Iranian general is killed; leftists, Kurds suspected The Ssa ( 1837 -i 985); Apr 24, 1979; ProQuest Historical Newspapers: Baltimore Sass, The (1837-1986) pg. A2 Iranian general is killed; leftists, Kurds suspected Tehran, Trail (lteuter)—Gen. Moham- mad Vail Gbarani, Iran's first armed forces chief of staff alter the revolution, was shot by unknown gunmen in his home yesterday and died later in a hospital. There was immediate speculation that General Gharani, in his late 60's, was the victim of leftists who considered him pro. American or of Kurds who resented his tough line against a Kurdish uprising in the northwestern town of Sanandaj last month , The general was appointed February 12, the chaotic last day of the revolution against the shah, by Premier Mehdi Ba- zargan. His appointment had the blessing of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the reli- gious revolutionary leader. But he was fired March 27 after severe criticism of his handling of the Sanandaj uprising, The general airlifted crack eommnn dos of the shah's former brigade of per- sonal bodyguards, the Immortals, to I i Kurds who were seeking greater self-ru ]. He was alleged to have ordered hellcopt' ; gunships to machine-gun ICurdish civilian areas. By the time of his dismissal, rumors al- so had spread that he tortured prisoners during the shah's regime. General Gharani was head of Army in- telligence when Premier Mohammad Mossadegh, who forced the shah into a three-day exile In 1953, was in power. When the shah returned and Mr. Mos- sadegh was ousted, the general survived in office, but was dismissed in 1957. He was in retirement before his appointment at the end of the revolution. Nine more persons linked with the shah's regime, Including a police general and a mullah, or Muslim clergyman, were executed yesterday by revolutionary courts in the eastem town of Mashhad and Bandar Abbas on tbe Persian Gulf coast. Repraduced with permissian of the coppdght owner. Farther repradactian prohibited withaat permissioe.