JERUSALEM, March 20 (Xinhua) -- The Israeli military said on Friday that its air force killed Esmail Ahmadi, head of intelligence for Iran's Basij volunteer force, in a strike earlier this week.
In a statement, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said Ahmadi was killed in a strike on Tuesday in central Tehran that also killed Basij commander Gholamreza Soleimani and several other senior officials.
The IDF said Ahmadi played a central role in planning and carrying out operations by Basij forces and was responsible for enforcing public order on behalf of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
It added that the killings dealt "a significant blow" to Iran's security command-and-control structures.
There was no immediate comment from Iranian authorities.
Israel and the United States launched a campaign of large-scale airstrikes on Iran on Feb. 28. Since then, a number of senior Iranian officials have been killed, including former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. Iran has responded by targeting Israel and U.S. interests across the region. ■
