​Soleimani, face of fight against ISIS, Taliban

New Delhi: India's ties with Qasem Soleimani could be in realm of speculations, but the slain commander of Iranian Revolutionary Guards’ elite Quds force did share New Delhi’s threat perceptions from Taliban, al-Qaeda and ISIS.

While India does not have equivalent of Soleimani's post and could not have had formal links with the slain general, Indian officials may have had periodical contacts with him to discuss cross-border terror groups in the wider West Asia region.

Soleimani was the face of armed resistance against ISIS in Iraq and Syria and contributed in a big way in defeating ISIS, said an expert familiar with West Asian dynamics who requested not to be identified.


Last year Soleimani had also slammed Pakistan for its failure to control terror groups on its soil that targeted Iranian Revolutionary Guards group.

Iran and India were among regional powers that backed anti-Taliban forces along with Russia before Taliban was ousted in Afghanistan.

The USA, too, had contacts with Soleimani after the 9/11 terror attack as the Bush administration targeted Taliban, experts said.

Later, when ISIS took control of large parts of Iraq and held Indians hostage, Tehran helped Delhi in securing the release of nurses and locating other group comprising Indian workers.

India and Iran face common threats from Taliban, al-Qaeda and ISIS and cooperate against terror, said the person cited earlier.

Last February, a car laden with explosives hit a bus of Revolutionary Guard soldiers on Zahedan-Khash road in Iran’s border province of Sistan-Balouchestan, killing 27 and injuring 13. Pakistan-based Jaish ul-Adl Takfiri terrorist group, which has ties to al-Qaeda, claimed responsibility for the attack.

Days after the attack, Soleimani said Iran does not want mere condolences, but concrete action from Pakistan. “Can’t you, as a nuclear-armed state, deal with a hundreds-strong terrorist group in the region?” he had said.