Hizbullah Buries Commander Killed in Syria
Hizbullah buried a leading commander in the south of the country on Monday, after he was killed "performing his jihadist duties in Syria", his party said.
"The Islamic Resistance (armed wing) is celebrating a leader from its heroic, sacrificing forces, the martyr Hassan Hussein al-Hajj... who died while performing his jihadist duties in Syria," it said in an official obituary.
Hizbullah has intervened in Syria on behalf of the embattled regime of President Bashar Assad, dispatching fighters and commanders to various fronts around the country.
According to the South Lebanon local news website, which is close to Hizbullah, Hajj was "the head of Hizbullah's operations inside Idlib" in northwest Syria.
He was killed in fierce clashes between Hizbullah fighters and "a takfiri (extremist Sunni) group", it said.
Although Hizbullah did not specify when Hajj was killed, local media said he died on Saturday.
Phillip Smyth, an expert on Shiite militias in Syria and Iraq, told AFP that Hajj was a "leading command element" in Hizbullah and killed in Idlib.
Hajj was buried in al-Louaizeh village. The funeral was attended by large crowds including Hizbullah officials.
It was a rare move for the party, which has normally refrained from giving details on its military losses in Syria.
Hizbullah's obituary said Hajj had led "some of the most famous special operations" against Israeli forces.
Source: Agence France Presse
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