Syrian unofficial sources report that 24-year-old Raghad Osama Dib, a senior lieutenant in Bashar al-Assad’s army, died near Damascus. It was initially announced that she had died of a heart attack. Later, information was received that she died during the bombing of the Saida Zainab area, and in the same place that the brigadier general of the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Said Reza Mousavi, was killed.
A version is spreading on social networks according to which Ragad was Said’s mistress. Some commentators have made fun of what the report of her death says about the “piety” of a female Syrian army officer.
There is no reliable information about the circumstances of the death of Raghad Osama Dib. The format of the announcement of her death and funeral also raises some doubts. Let us note that Syrian oppositionists write about her as Mousavi’s mistress, citing Israeli sources, and Israeli bloggers refer to publications by Syrians.
One way or another, the version of the death of the married IRGC general along with his Syrian mistress has become widespread on social networks.
Some publications note that Raghad Osama Dib grew up in a family that is closely connected with the family of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and with the Makhlouf clan, which included Anisa, the wife of former Syrian President Hafiz al-Assad.
As previously reported, on the morning of Thursday, December 28, the funeral of Said Reza Mousavi, a brigadier general of the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, who was liquidated this week near Damascus, took place in Tehran. The ceremony was attended by Iran’s spiritual leader Ali Khamenei, representatives of the country’s political and military leadership, including the IRGC command. That is, the deceased was given exceptional honors, which indicates his extremely high rank in the hierarchy of Iran’s security forces. Judging by publications in the Iranian media, at the ceremony Said Mousavi was called a “tireless fighter” and his exceptional merits in the fight against the “Zionist entity” were noted.
Previously, Tehran accused Israel of attacking a Hezbollah facility in the Saida Zainab (Zaynabiyah) area, south of Damascus, which killed Saeed Reza Mousavi, who was responsible for supplying weapons to Hezbollah in Syria and Lebanon.
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi said Israel will pay the price for killing Mousavi. Hezbollah’s leadership said Israel had “crossed the line.”
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian advised the “Tel Aviv government” to begin the “countdown.” According to him, the officer killed in Syria was “a military adviser on counter-terrorism and for many years, together with the commander of the Quds Force, Qassem Suleiman (liquidated in January 2020), ensured the security of Iran and fought regional terrorism.
Israel does not claim responsibility for this attack. Israeli authorities, as a rule, do not comment on strikes on targets in Syria. However, the Israeli leadership says that the IDF is ready to repel threats from Syria and Lebanon.
The Iranian agency Tasnim wrote that Said Reza Mousavi (“Said Reza”) was one of the IRGC officers who stayed in Syria for the longest time – almost 25 years, and “coordinated all matters”, that is, in fact, he was the main coordinator of the IRGC in Syria. He was one of the closest associates of General Qasem Soleimani, commander of the Al-Quds Force, liquidated by the Americans near Baghdad on January 3, 2020.
According to Iranian media, three missiles were fired from the Golan Heights at targets in the Saida Zainab area. Judging by the available information, in addition to “Said Reza”, there are others killed.
The leadership of the Iranian “resistance front headquarters” noted that Said Reza Mousavi had previously survived two assassination attempts.