The commander of the Iranian 'Khanzala' hacker group was killed during Operation Roaring Lion, according to an unconfirmed report. The group is known for cyber-breaches of devices belonging to senior Israeli officials, including former IDF chief Herzi Halevi, Yoav Gallant, and Naftali Bennett.
An unconfirmed report circulating tonight identifies the killed official as the commander of the Iranian 'Khanzala' hacker group — an attribution that the desk has tracked over four previous updates since Wed Jun 24, 23:05 Jerusalem. The report does not name the commander or provide a time or location for the killing.
On Wed Jun 24, 23:05 Jerusalem, the first version of this thread carried unverified reports that the commander of the group — then referred to as 'Bandarla' — had been killed. Later that same timestamp, version 2 identified the commander as Yehia Hosseini Panjaki, with an IRGC-linked source confirming his role. By version 3, an IRGC-intelligence-affiliated source publicly confirmed for the first time that Panjaki led the group, which had exfiltrated data from cellphones of senior Israeli officials. Version 4, published at the same Wed 23:05 Jerusalem timestamp, added that Panjaki was a deputy chief of internal security at Iran's intelligence ministry and had been killed in an Israeli strike in Tehran during the early days of Operation Roaring Lion, according to Israeli media.
As The Zioneer reported on Thu 09:05 Jerusalem, Panjaki was also sanctioned by the US Treasury in 2024. The desk later published a profile at Thu 10:50 Jerusalem detailing his dual role as an intelligence official and cyber-group leader.
It remains unclear whether the latest report refers to a different commander or is a restatement of Panjaki's already-reported death. The operator behind this report is a single source; the account has not been independently corroborated.
5 developments
- StrongIranian hacker group Khanzala claims it disrupted US military strike waves electronically
- DevelopingHacker group Khanzala says it passed coordinates of US forces in Gulf to IRGC
- StrongHacker group Khanzala says joint cyber-IRGC response against 'the enemy' imminent
- DevelopingIranian hacker group Khanzala claims it breached California water facilities as warning
Source and signal
- Internal intake