Ali Reza Tavassoli
Ali Reza Tavassoli | |
|---|---|
 Tavassoli in 2014 | |
| Native name | علیرضا توسلی |
| Born | 1962 Afghanistan |
| Died | 28 February 2015 (aged 52–53) Daraa Governorate, Syria |
| Buried | Mashhad, Iran |
| Allegiance |  Islamic Republic of Iran |
| Branch | Liwa Fatemiyoun |
| Years of service | 1980s–2015 |
| Engagements | |
| Alma mater | Al-Mustafa International University |
Ali Reza Tavassoli (Persian: علیرضا توسلی; 1962 – 28 February 2015) was an Afghan militant of the Fatemiyoun Brigade. An ethnic Hazara, he was born in Afghanistan and later moved to Iran, where he studied at Al-Mustafa International University. His first activities as a combatant were during the Iran–Iraq War, when he and many other Afghan Shia Muslims enlisted in a volunteer pro-Iranian militia to fight against Iraq. Following the Arab Spring in 2011, Tavassoli was appointed by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to command Afghan Shia militants in the Syrian Civil War. Four years later, while fighting alongside the IRGC, Hezbollah, and the Syrian government in the Southern Syria offensive, he was killed by Jabhat al-Nusra.[1][2]
Biography
[edit]Tavassoli was born in 1962 in Afghanistan.[3] He later moved to Iran, where he lived in Mashhad and studied in Qom, eventually graduating from Al-Mustafa International University.[4]
Career
[edit]He served as a Shia volunteer fighter on the Iranian side of the Iran–Iraq War.[5]
According to the " official " Iranian version, Ali-Reza Tavassoli, alias Abu Hamed, and the Iranian cleric Mohammad Baqir Alaoui, initially asked Iran to send their small contingent of 22-25 Afghans stationed in Mashhad to Syria. This first contingent is said to have fought alongside the Iraqi Shiite militia Kataib Sayyid al-Shuhada , which was born in Syria in the summer of 2013 and then deployed in Iraq alongside Syria, and even with the Lebanese Hezbollah. Tavassoli then recruited from the Hazara community who had taken refuge in Iran and then from the small community present in Damascus around the tomb of Sayyida Zaynab (fewer than 2,000 people). Two other groups of 15 and then 22 volunteers quickly arrived in Syria.[6]
Ali Reza Tavassoli, the founder of Liwa Fatemiyoun, is a veteran of the Abouzar Brigade, already composed of Hazaras, which fought in Iranian Kurdistan against Iraqis and Kurdish separatists during the Iran-Iraq War, from its base, which was in Ramadan.[6]
During the Syrian Civil War, Tavassoli was appointed by Qasem Soleimani, the erstwhile Iranian commander of the Quds Force, as a commander of Shia volunteer fighters from Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan, Lebanon, Syria, and Yemen. In 2014, he organized Afghan Shia volunteers and formed the Fatemiyoun Brigade to protect Shia shrines in Syria, where he was known by the Arabic-language nickname Abu Hamed.[2][4]
Death
[edit]On 28 February 2015, Tavassoli was killed during the Southern Syria offensive[1] while fighting Jabhat al-Nusra in Daraa, south of Damascus.[1][2] He was buried in Mashhad, Iran.[4]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c "Iran mourns 7 Afghans killed fighting for Damascus ally". The Daily Star. Agence France Presse. 3 March 2015. Retrieved 3 April 2016.
- ^ a b c Neriah, Jacques (4 March 2015). "Iran Deploys Afghan Shiite Brigade to Spread Its Control in Southern Syria". Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs. Retrieved 3 April 2016.
- ^ Zohuri, Vahid (15 March 2015). "Ali Reza Tavassoli, Afghan commander of Fatemiyoun Brigade". Kayhan. Retrieved 3 April 2016.
- ^ a b c Esfandiari, Golnaz (25 April 2015). "Increasing Number Of Afghans, Pakistanis Killed In Syria Buried In Iran". Persian Letters. Retrieved 3 April 2016.
- ^ Alfoneh, Ali (3 August 2015). "Shiite Combat Casualties Show the Depth of Iran's Involvement in Syria". Washington Institute for Near East Policy. Retrieved 3 April 2016.
- ^ a b "Pour se battre en Syrie, l'Iran enrôle massivement des Afghans chiites | FranceSoir". www.francesoir.fr (in French). Retrieved 25 July 2025.