Senior Iranian military officer dies in crash

An Iranian military plane crashed in northwest Iran today, killing at least 11 people aboard.

An Iranian military plane crashed in northwest Iran today, killing at least 11 people aboard.

Ahmad Kazemi, head of the Iran's corps' ground forces.
Ahmad Kazemi, head of the Iran's corps' ground forces.

A senior Revolutionary Guard commander, Ahmad Kazemi, was killed in the crash, a spokesman told the official IRNA news agency.

Mr Kazemi was one of the most powerful commanders in the Revolutionary Guard.

It was reported the Revolutionary Guard had also lost its ground force commanders of artillery, operations and co-ordination activities. It said the cause of the crash was likely to be bad weather.

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The Revolutionary Guard is a separate force from the national military and has its own army, air force and navy. It is pledged to defend the principles of the 1979 Islamic revolution and answers to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.