Source: Nephew of Hussein Hajj Hassan Killed in Syria
The nephew of Caretaker Agriculture Minister Hussein Hajj Hassan has been killed along with three other Hizbullah fighters in Syria's Qalamoun region, a source close to the party said on Thursday.
"Ali Rida Fouad Hajj Hassan, aged 22, was killed along with three other Hizbullah fighters in Qalamoun" north of Damascus on Wednesday, the source told Agence France Presse.
"He was the nephew of Hussein Hajj Hassan," Caretaker Agriculture Minister and a leading Hizbullah member, the source added.
In May, the movement admitted for the first time that it has sent fighters to support President Bashar Assad's forces in their bid to crush an anti-regime rebellion that erupted in 2011.
According to the source, the bodies of the four men have not been brought back to Lebanon for burial.
But local TV stations said the young fighter was buried in Beirut's southern suburbs on Thursday. The funeral was accompanied by gunfire by mourners.
Qalamoun is located along the border with Lebanon, and fighting has escalated there in recent weeks as Syria's army and its backers launched a bid to wrest from the rebels areas under opposition control.
Source: Agence France Presse, Naharnet
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