Iran confirms death of Iranian pilot in Iraq - Washington Post
www.washingtonpost.com/.../iran...iranian...iraq/.../67...
by Jason Rezaian - 14 hours ago - The death of a pilot is the first confirmation of Iran's presence in Iraq.
The Washington Post
Iranian pilot killed fighting in Iraq - Middle East - Al Jazeera ...
www.aljazeera.com/.../iranian-pilot-killed-fighting-iraq-20147...
1 day ago - An Iranian pilot has been killed while fighting in Iraq, in what is thought to be the first military casualty that Tehran officially acknowledged ...
Al Jazeera
A handout image made available by Iran's FARS News Agency shows mourners attending the funeral of an Iranian pilot at a mosque in the city of Shiraz, on July 4, 2014. (Amin Faezi/AFP/Getty Images)
TEHRAN —
State media reported Saturday that an Iranian military pilot was killed
in Iraq, the first confirmation that Iranian forces are involved in the
Iraqi government’s battle to repel an offensive by al-Qaeda-inspired
extremists.
IRNA, Iran’s official news agency, did not provide
details of how or when the pilot was killed but said he died defending
holy places in the Iraqi city of Samarra, which is home to an important
Shiite pilgrimage site.Tehran has repeatedly pledged its support for the Shiite-dominated government of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki but has said it would not send military forces into its embattled neighbor’s territory unless asked to do so.
Iranian officials are likely to defend their presence in Iraq. Protecting Shiite holy sites in Samarra and the Iraqi cities of Karbala and Najaf is considered part of the government’s responsibility in Iran, the world’s main Shiite power.
The semiofficial Fars News Agency published photos of a funeral that it said was for the pilot, who was identified as Col. Shoja’at Alamdari Mourjani, in his home province of Fars, in Iran’s south.
Jason Rezaian has been The Post’s correspondent in Tehran since 2012. He was previously a freelance writer based in Tehran.
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