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Assassination of Lieutenant General Ali Sayad Shirazi by Kombizz Via Flickr: Lieutenant General Ali Sayad Shirazi (13 June 1944 – 10 April 1999) (Persian: علی صياد شیرازی‎) was chief-of-staff of the Iranian Armed Forces during the eight-year Iran-Iraq war. He was assassinated in 1999 by the terrorist organisation Mojahedin-e-Khalq (MEK). Prior to that, he had a central role in suppressing the armed rebellion in Kordestan province in 1979. On April 10, 1999, 6:45 local time, Shirazi was assassinated outside his house while on his way to work. The terrorist group Mujahadeen-e-Khalgh (MEK), claimed responsibility. The MEK claimed the act was revenge for Operation Mersad. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in his message on Shirazi's martyrdom said: "The faithful and brave commander of the Islamic army and devoted soldier of the religion and the holy Qur'an attained martyrdom at the hands of the criminal, bloodthirsty and disgraced hypocrites. This is not the first nor the last time a faithful and lover of the lofty ideas of the divine faith has been martyred by the dirty, criminal and corrupt hands of those mercenaries who have to earn their livelihood only through serving the enemies of Islam. The hot plains of Khuzestan and the high mountains of Kurdestan have witnessed the preparedness and devotion of the brave and determined man who left numerous memories of his courage and self-sacrifice during the eight-year sacred defense period." en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ali_Sayad_Shirazi