Report: Iranian Guard commander killed in Syria

                
Iran's semiofficial Mehr news agency says a commander in its powerful Revolutionary Guard has been killed in Syria.               

The agency said Monday that Mohammad Jamali was killed by "terrorists" a few days ago but didn't provide details. It said his funeral will be held in Kerman in southeastern Iran on Tuesday.                  

Iran is one of Syrian President Bashar Assad's main allies. Tehran has provided his government with military and political backing for years and has kept up its support since the uprising there began in March 2011.                 

Last year, Guard chief commander Gen. Mohammad Ali Jafari said the unit had high-level advisers in Syria but it has denied it has fighters there.                   

Assad is from the Alawites, an offshoot of Shiite Islam. Iran is majority Shiite. Syria's rebels are mostly Sunni.                          


AP