Brigadier General Hamid Taqavi (Persian: حمید تقوی; 1955 – 27 December 2014) was an Iranian military officer and commander in the Quds Force.[3]


Hamid Taqavi
Native name
حمید تقوی
Birth nameHamid Taqavi
Nickname(s)Haj Hamid
Born1955[1]
Ahvaz, Imperial State of Iran
Died(2014-12-27)27 December 2014 (aged 58-59)[2]
Samarra, Iraq
AllegianceIran Iran
Service / branch Revolutionary Guards
Years of service1980–2014
Rank Brigadier general[3]
UnitQuds Force
CommandsRamazan Headquarters
Battles / wars

A veteran of the Iran–Iraq War, he was reportedly killed in action in late 2014 by an ISIL sniper while on “an advisory mission” during the War in Iraq (2013-17).[3]

Military career

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Iran–Iraq War

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He joined the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) immediately after the outbreak of the Iran–Iraq War in 1980 and recruited forces from Dasht-e Azadegan, forming a Military Intelligence Unit in Susangerd in southern Iran. He fought in some operations and battles in the war including Operation Kheibar and First Battle of al-Faw, where his father and brother were killed, respectively. During the war, he was promoted to the Ramazan Headquarters command.[4][5]

War on ISIL

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According to the head of the Badr Organization, Hadi al-Amiri, he “was present in most of the important battles against ISIL and played a key role in the Liberation of Jurf Al Sakhar”.[6]

"Taqavi was killed while conducting an operation in cooperation with the Iraqi Army and Popular Mobilization Forces to counter ISIL militants in the vicinity of the Al-Askari shrine", according to a statement by Public Relations Department of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.[7]

On 30 December 2014, thousands of officers from the Revolutionary Guards gathered in Tehran for Taqavi's funeral, including Qasem Soleimani. Ali Shamkhani said "If people like Taqavi do not shed their blood in Samarra, then we would shed our blood in Sistan, Azerbaijan, Shiraz and Esfahan [to defend Iran]”.[2]

References

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  1. ^ "استشهاد مجاهد ايراني يقود غرفة العمليات في سامراء". Archived from the original on 1 January 2015. Retrieved 11 January 2015.
  2. ^ a b Gholipour, Behnam (30 December 2014). "Dreams of hegemonic powers for Islamic world will never come true". The Guardian. Retrieved 9 January 2015.
  3. ^ a b c Balali, Mehrdad (28 December 2014). Angus MacSwan (ed.). "Iranian general killed by sniper bullet in embattled Iraqi city". Reuters. Retrieved 9 January 2015.
  4. ^ حال و هوای «سردار سامرا» در آخرین دیدار ["The Sardar of Samarra" in his last meeting]. Jaam-e Jam (in Persian). 1 January 2015. Retrieved 9 January 2015.
  5. ^ همرزم شهید تقوی: شهادت «حاج حمید» اثبات بدون مرز بودن اسلام بود [Martyrdom of "Haj Hamid" proofs that Islam is borderless]. Tasnim News Agency (in Persian). 9 January 2015. Retrieved 9 January 2015.
  6. ^ "Iraq owes many victories against ISIL to Iran: Hadi al-Ameri". Mehr News Agency. 6 January 2015. Retrieved 9 January 2015.
  7. ^ "Dreams of hegemonic powers for Islamic world will never come true". Islamic Republic News Agency. 29 December 2014. Archived from the original on 8 January 2015. Retrieved 9 January 2015.