Wanted Hizbullah Commander Killed in Syria
A senior Hizbullah commander branded by the FBI as one of the world's most wanted terrorists was killed fighting in Syria, residents of his village in southern Lebanon told Agence France Presse Tuesday.
Hizbullah has deployed thousands of fighters into neighboring Syria to back President Bashar Assad's army as he battles insurgents who have been trying to overthrow him for the past three years.
"Fawzi Ayoub was killed fighting in Syria. His funeral was held in (his home village of) Ain Qana yesterday (Monday). Many people came to the funeral, to give their condolences to his family," a resident of the village said on condition of anonymity.
According to another resident of Ain Qana, some 50 kilometers (30 miles) southeast of Beirut, "Ayoub was a leading Hizbullah commander in the Aleppo area" in northern Syria.
The FBI's website says Ayoub was indicted in the United States in 2009 for "willfully and knowingly" trying to enter Israel, Hizbullah's arch-enemy, with a fake U.S. passport "for the purpose of conducting a bombing."
Ayoub, who had lived in Canada, was arrested in Israel in 2000. He was released three years later in a prisoner swap with Hizbullah.
Source: Agence France Presse
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