On March 11, 1957, Qassem Suleimani was born in Rabor town, Iran’s Kerman province. He descended from a tribal family that used to work in agriculture.
General Suleimani contributed effectively to the Islamic Revolution activities before it emerged victorious in 1979. Later on, he joined the IRGC in 1980, when he led two military brigades during the imposed war on Iran.
In 1988, IRGC was tasked to fight illegal drugs. Then, martyr Suleimani took the command of IRGC in Kerman on the Afghani border, where he curbed drugs smuggling from Afghanistan to Turkey and Europe via Iran.
In 1998, martyr Suleimani was appointed as the head of IRGC’s Al-Quds Force. Immediately, he came into Lebanon where he played a vital role in developing Hezbollah military capabilities. In 2006, the martyr was the Supreme Leader Imam Sayyed Ali Khamenei’s envoy to Lebanon during July’s war.
In this regard, General Suleimani had a solid vocational and familial relation with Hezbollah military commander, Hajj Imad Mughniyeh, before the latter’s martyrdom in Damascus on February 12, 2008.
Martyr Suleimani also met with the commanders of the Palestinian resistance factions in Syria and expressed readiness to support them all in ace of the Zionist occupation. Indeed, his role contributed remarkably to the development of their military capabilities.
General Suleimani, moreover, supported the Iraqi resistance against the US invasion and occupation, cooperating with the martyr Abu Mahdi Al-Muhandis to establish the Popular Mobilization Forces (Hashd Shaabi) to fight and defeat ISIL terrorists.
The martyr, furthermore, supported the Afghani resistance against the Taliban movement, providing the Ahmad shah Massoud forces in 1999 with the needed artillery to remain steadfast in Panjshir valley.
Martyr Suleimani further had strong relations with Yemen’sAnsarullah Movement and helped it develop the military capabilities of its fighters.
General Suleimani employed all his military capabilities and expertise to lead Syria allies fight against the terrorist groups, contributing genuinely in the victory over ISIL group in 2017.
Hajj Qassem Suleimani supported the peaceful revolution in Bahrain against the dictatorial authorities, threatening the regime taking oppressive measures against the citizens.
On March 10, 2019, Imam Khamenei granted General Suleimani Order of Zolfaqar, Iran’s highest military honor.
Hours before his martyrdom, General Suleimani visited Lebanon where he met with Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah for long hours and discussed with his eminence various issues before he traveled to Baghdad.
On January 3, 2020, a US drone attack claimed the two martyrs Suleimani and Abu Mahdi Al-Muhandis, the former deputy chief of Hashd Shaabi Committee, after targeting their convoy near Baghdad airport.
Millions of Iranians mourned Martyr Suleimani across Iran. The martyr was not buried in his hometown before IRGC fired 14 ballistic missiles at US military base of Ali Al-Asad in Iraq’s Al-Anbar and injured 109 occupation soldiers.
Source: Al-Manar English Website
