Huthi Spiritual Leader Buried in Beirut's Southern Suburbs
The alleged spiritual leader of Shiite Huthi rebels in Yemen has been reportedly buried in Hizbullah's stronghold of Beirut's southern suburbs.
Sheikh Abdul Malek al-Shami was laid to rest on Monday near the grave of Hizbullah's military commander Imad Mughniyeh, who was killed in a 2008 car bomb blast in the Syrian capital Damascus.
The reports said that al-Shami had written in his will that he wanted to be buried near Mughniyeh.
His funeral took place amid a total media blackout, they said.
Al-Shami died in the Iranian capital after he was transferred from Yemen to a hospital in Tehran to be treated for injuries he sustained in a bomb blast.
His body was later sent to Lebanon for burial in Beirut's southern suburbs.
Hizbullah denied on Saturday media reports that any of its members had been killed in Yemen.
A months-long rebellion by the Huthi fighters in Yemen escalated into a regional conflict last month, when the coalition led by Saudi Arabia began conducting air strikes on rebel-held territory.
Last month, a Gulf diplomatic official said that according to estimates, there are 5,000 Iranians, Hizbullah and Iraqi militia on the ground in Yemen.
Hizbullah officials have been directing a barrage of criticism at Saudi Arabia, accusing the kingdom of committing genocide with its campaign targeting the rebels.
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