Hezbollah announced the death of six of its commanders and fighters, including the son of its slain former military chief Imad Mughniyah, in what is believed to be an Israeli airstrike in southern Syria.
The Lebanon-based Iranian proxy claimed "the martyrdom of a number of Mujahideen by the Zionist bombing in Quneitra, Syria," on Al Manar, the group's official news outlet. The Hezbollah fighters "came under rocket fire from helicopters" of "the Israeli enemy," the Hezbollah propaganda outlet noted.
Among the six Hezbollah operatives killed in the airstrike was Jihad Imad Mughniyah, the son of Imad, who was one of the founders of Hezbollah who served as the group's military and intelligence commander up until he was killed in a car bombing in Damascus in 2008. Imad, who masterminded some of the most deadly terror attacks agains the US, Israel, France, and in Argentina and Iraq, is believed to have been assassinated by Israeli intelligence.
Jihad Mughniyah is said to have been leading a group of Hezbollah fighters in a reconnaissance operation in Quneitra. The Al Nusrah Front, al Qaeda's official branch in Syria, the Islamic Front, and allied Free Syria Army units are currently operating in an around Quneitra. The jihadist groups have controlled the Quneitra border crossing.
Al Manar identified the other five Hezbollah commanders and operatives as Mohamed Ahmed Issa (he was identified as a "leader"), Abbas Ibrahim Hijazi, Muhammad Ali Hassan, Ghazi Ali Dhaoui, and Ali Hassan Ibrahim.
The Israeli government and military have not commented on the reported airstrike in southern Syria. But the Israeli Air Force has launched several airstrikes against the Syrian regime and Hezbollah's network inside Syria since the civil war broke out in 2011. The Israelis have targeted weapons systems that were being transferred to Hezbollah as well as weapons facilities in Damascus, Latakia, and Jamraya [See LWJ report, US officials: Israel struck targets near Damascus and Latakia.]
Senior Iranian and Hezbollah commanders have been killed during the fighting in Syria. In February 2013, Hassan Shateri a top commander in Iran's Revolutionary Guards Corps who is also said to have served on Hezbollah's advisory council, was killed in an ambush while traveling from Damascus to Beirut. A senior Iranian official eulogized Shateri, who was listed by the US as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist, as "no less than [Imad] Mughniyah."