Thousands of Hezbollah supporters have turned out for the funeral of a prominent fighter killed in a suspected Israeli helicopter strike in Syria’s
ADVERTISEMENTThousands of Hezbollah supporters have turned out for the funeral of a prominent fighter killed in a suspected Israeli helicopter strike in Syria’s Golan Heights on Sunday.
The Lebanese Shi’ite Islamist movement said Jihad Moughniyah and commander Mohammed Issa, known as Abu Issa, were among six of its members who died in the province of Quneitra.
Moughniyah’s late father Imad was implicated in several attacks on Israeli and Western targets. Hezbollah accused Israel of assassinating him in 2008.
Israeli media reports say it’s believed the young fighter headed a unit that was plotting to attack Israel.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards have confirmed that an Iranian general was among those killed, saying he had been in Syria to advise forces loyal to President al-Assad.
Israel seized the Golan Heights from Syria towards the end of the 1967 Middle East war.
Following the strike UN peacekeepers stepped up patrols along the border between Lebanon and Israel.
Hezbollah said its fighters went on high alert; people in southern Lebanon and Beirut are said to have remained indoors, fearing an escalation of hostilities.