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Missing Hizbullah Fighter Killed in Syria, Buried in Baalbek

A Hizbullah commander, who had been missing for months in Syria, was buried in on Wednesday after his body was repatriated following his torture and killing by rebels, relatives told Agence France Presse.

Hussein Salah Habib, 30, was captured by opposition fighters during the fight for Qusayr, a strategic town near the border that fell to the regime on June 5.

He was buried in the Bekaa city of Baalbek.

Armed Hizbullah members and fighters who participated in the battle for Qusayr were among those at Habib's funeral, an AFP correspondent reported.

His body had been missing for months since the battle in Qusayr, and was recovered nearly a week ago in the area of Tallet Mando, near the town.

"He was repatriated and DNA tests proved that it was indeed Hussein," a relative said.

"We were told that his body was buried under a mound of sand. He had been stabbed in several parts of his body and his face was disfigured," he added.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says at least 262 Hizbullah fighters have been killed in Syria since the beginning of the conflict in March 2011.

The party first publicly confirmed its intervention in the conflict in April.

Source: Agence France Presse


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