Ali Reza Tavassoli (Persian: علیرضا توسلی; 1962 – 28 February 2015) was an Afghan commander and ethnic Hazara leader of the Fatemiyoun Brigade until he was killed in action fighting Jabhat al-Nusra in Daraa, Syria.[1][2]
Ali Reza Tavassoli was born in 1962 in Afghanistan.[3] Tavassoli lived in Mashhad and studied in Qom, Iran. He graduated from Al-Mustafa International University.[4] He was an Afghan volunteer in the Iran–Iraq War.[5]
He was appointed by Qasem Soleimani, Iranian commander of the Quds Force, as commander of Shia volunteers from Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan, Lebanon, Syria, and Yemen. On 2014, he organized Afghan Shia volunteers and formed the Fatemiyoun Brigade to protect holy Shia shrines in Syria. In Syria, Tavassoli is known as Abu Hamed.[2][4]
On 28 February 2015, Ali Reza Tavassoli was killed in Southern Syria offensive[1] while fighting Jabhat al-Nusra in Daraa, south of Damascus.[1][2] He was buried in Mashhad.[4]