Iranian commander led Iraq anti-jihadist drive — Hizbollah

BEIRUT — Lebanon's Shiite movement Hizbollah said Friday that an Iranian elite unit commander led the anti-jihadist counterattack in Iraq after the Islamic State group made major advances in June.

Major General Qassem Suleimani landed in Baghdad on June 10, hours after the IS overran the Iraqi city of Mosul, "leading a group of Lebanese and Iranian military experts", according to the pro-Tehran Shiite group's Al Manar website.

It said Suleimani, who heads Iran's elite Quds Force, had together with the Iraqi military and Shiite militias worked out a strategy "to secure Baghdad and its surroundings", when the jihadists appeared unstoppable.

"The first order he gave was to secure the road linking Baghdad to Samarra [to the north], and he successfully expelled the IS jihadists who had been occupying sections of this vital artery," it said.

"He had a direct role in battles on this road, and has been present in all the major anti-IS battles in the western province of Anbar," according to Al Manar.

It said Suleimani also took part in fighting in "the Kurdish regions of Diyala [in the east], the oil-rich province of Kirkuk and in the recent battle to reclaim Baiji refinery".

There was no immediate confirmation of the report from officials in Baghdad.

A secretive figure, Suleimani is seldom mentioned in Iranian media. He has cultivated a reputation as one of the most influential security operatives in the Middle East.

In 2008, the United States accused him of training Shiite militias waging attacks against Western troops in Iraq.

A senior Iranian justice official has also said that Suleimani was present during fighting near Erbil alongside Kurdish forces in early August.

Media in Iran regularly report the deaths of Iranian "volunteers" in Syria and Iraq in fighting against jihadists.

Iranian authorities claim the combatants are there of their own accord to protect Shiite holy sites.