Basij commander Abdol-Hossein Majdami (عبدالحسین مجدمی) in Khuzestan was gunned down as he left his home in the early hours of Wednesday, January 22. But what do we know?

The first report might have been here at http://www.asrejonoob.ir/. This is because Fars says their source was (منبع:پایگاه خبری عصر جنوب) and then they wrote the following. From the first report we understand the governor of the province confirmed the “ssassination of Basij commander of the Darjeeling city, saying the guards member lost his life, shot by a Kalashnikov bullet.” He left his home at 4minutes after midnight (or 4am according to some reports) and was ambushed by “two motorcyclists ambushed the guard at the door of the house.” He was shot twice by an AK-47. 

Some terms (شادگان), Shadegan is a city and capital of Shadegan County, Khuzestan Province, Iran. This is where the officials confirmed it. He is not named in the first report, but later his name is given as (عبدالحسین مجدمی). He is commander of the Darkhoveyn (دارخوین) Basij. Darkhoveyn is a city in “Darkhoveyn Rural District”, in the Central District of Shadegan County, Khuzestan Province, Iran.

Fars goes on to write three stories about this in one day, here and here and here. We learn a special investigator has been assigned to find the perpetrators. A funeral is held Thursday.  I found these articles through a search of Fars News. There seem to be more reports as well.

In Arabic media Al-Hurra picks up the report soon after it appears in Farsi. They note “ost cities in the predominantly Arab Khuzestan province witnessed widespread popular protests during the last period, rejecting economic decisions, at which time the Basij forces intervened to quell the protests.” They also note it comes after the killing of Qasem Soleimani by the US on January 3.

Another early commentator is Omar Madaniahwriting in Arabic. He uses the Arabic term for the city ( الفلاحية).

https://twitter.com/Omar_Madaniah/status/1219746134928822272

Soon after the reports emerge his death is mentioned numerous times on social media from January 22 to 23. He is even pictured with Soleimani in some photos posted online. Supporters have eulogized him.

Farsi media continues to report the killing without much new details.

Al-Ain in the UAE however adds something:  “Jamal al-Hamdani, a leader in the Ahwaz Liberal Party, said that the assassination of Majdem comes in response to the youth of Al-Ahwaz and their families who suffered from the crimes of the Basij forces. Al-Hamdani added that, after the assassination, the city of Al-Falahiya witnessed an intense proliferation of Iranian Revolutionary Guards, who closed all entrances to the city and started random arrests targeting its sons. The cities of the Ahwaz region have witnessed since last October and until now widespread popular protests against the regime of velayat-e faqih and its repressive policies against the inhabitants of this Arab region occupied by Iran since 1925. The Iranian Revolutionary Guards and its Iraqi Popular Mobilization militia have used excessive violence to suppress Ahwaz, but despite this protests are continuing.”

Soon the killing has made it into English language media as well. They note“Local media reported the murder early Wednesday, January 22 and hours later, Fars news agency close to the Revolutionary Guard quoted the local reports, indirectly confirming the news.” Now the news is widespread but most of it has not gone beyond the original reports. Ahwaz has seen other incidents, including a 22 September 2018 attack on the IRGC.

Since his death he has been seen as a martyr, but Iranian mediahas not provided much more details.

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