Report: Ahmadinejad's bodyguard killed in Syria

[EC]

 (CNN)A bodyguard for former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has been killed in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo, Tehran's state media reported.

Abdollah Baqeri Niyaraki was also a former member of Iran's Revolutionary Guard. He was in Syria serving as a military adviser to the nation's troops, the semiofficial FARS news agency says.

His death comes on the heels of two other high-ranking Iranian military figures, also acting as advisers in the south of the country, who were killed in clashes with insurgents, Fars says.

http://edition.cnn.com/2015/10/24/middleeast/ahmadinejad-bodyguard-killed-syria/index.html

So what the HELL was a SAVAK officer doing in Aleppo?

[famousdayandyear]

So what the HELL was a SAVAK officer doing in Aleppo?

EC:  Syria and Iran are long-time allies, I believe.

Can you provide some background?  What is SAVAK? I gather it stands for the revolutionary guard, or some spec ops therein.  You are so knowledgeable on this topic.  We would all benefit from your experiences!!
Thanks in advance.

[EC]

SAVAK aren't the Revolutionary Guard. Those have a modicum of decency and are usually totally professional. I'd rate them as one of the better militaries. In terms of structure, training, and spheres of responsibility, the IRG most resembles the IDF.

SAVAK are the Iranian Secret Police. Nasty sods, even by the standards of the ME, they have a penetration of society that the old KGB guys would have wet dreams over. And they provide all the bodyguards to political figures. As an insurance policy, mainly - the old men who run the show don't like competition for loyalty of the people.
Almost every SAVAK officer has done time in the IRG first, that's true, but it's not a fixed requirement, and someone who served as the presidents bodyguard was not picked for their savvy about military tactics, but rather their ability in more political spheres.

So, whatever he was doing in Aleppo - it was not giving military advice. 

[famousdayandyear]

SAVAK aren't the Revolutionary Guard. Those have a modicum of decency and are usually totally professional. I'd rate them as one of the better militaries. In terms of structure, training, and spheres of responsibility, the IRG most resembles the IDF.

SAVAK are the Iranian Secret Police. Nasty sods, even by the standards of the ME, they have a penetration of society that the old KGB guys would have wet dreams over. And they provide all the bodyguards to political figures. As an insurance policy, mainly - the old men who run the show don't like competition for loyalty of the people.
Almost every SAVAK officer has done time in the IRG first, that's true, but it's not a fixed requirement, and someone who served as the presidents bodyguard was not picked for their savvy about military tactics, but rather their ability in more political spheres.

So, whatever he was doing in Aleppo - it was not giving military advice. 

So the SAVAK killed was a sorta intelligence type plus combined MMA?
Mitch Rapp comes to mind.  (heh)

[EC]

Pretty much.

Big lad, by the two pictures of him everyone is using, but not bulky. So MMA isn't a far off description! 

[famousdayandyear]

By the way, good mornin'  !

[aligncare]

By the way, good mornin'  !

I think EC is already well into his afternoon, yes? Any break in the London overcast, yet, EC?

[EC]

Morning famous!

Well - it's not raining. That's about the most optimistic I can get about the weather. Saw the sun briefly on Tuesday - I think it were Tuesday ....

[Fishrrman]

EC asks above:
"So what the HELL was a SAVAK officer doing in Aleppo?"

Read these three books by Joel Rosenberg, in order:
The Twelfth Imam
The Tehran Initiative
Damascus Countdown

... and then you'll know!   ;)