Hezbollah Senior Commander Killed
Hezbollah blamed Israel for the death of Hassan al-Laqees after he was killed in Beirut after returning from work. The militant group from Lebanon warned that Israel will suffer the consequences.
However, a spokesman for the Foreign Ministry of Israel, Yigal Palmor, made a denial on its supposed involvement in the death of the senior Hezbollah commander. Palmor said that Israel was not involved in the incident and the automatic accusations are linked to the innate reflex of the group. Palmor added that the group does not require evidence or facts and that everything is blamed on Israel.
The Hezbollah commander was reportedly shot in the neck and head five times. The militant group indicated that Laqees spent his life working with the resistance against Israel. The group added that it lost the commander after a number of assassination attempts in the past.
Although Israel is considered as the sworn enemy of the group, tension has increased between Sunni extremists and the militant group. The tension arose after the group decided to send fighters into Syria to provide support for President Bashar al-Assad, which is opposed by a number of other extremist groups. A number of attacks by the group in the past year were inside its stronghold in Beirut.
The attack was claimed by Ahrar al-Sunna Baalbek Brigade through a tweet. However, this claim remains unconfirmed. The group also criticized the militant group of arresting Sunnis in Lebanon.
The assassination of Hassan al-Laqees followed an interview of Hasan Nasrallah was broadcast through Lebanese television. Nasrallah indicated that a number of al-Qaeda-linked groups were supported by Saudi Arabia in Lebanon. The Hezbollah head that one of the Saudi Arabia-supported groups claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing on November 19 at the embassy of Iran.