(MENAFN- The Peninsula) An Israeli helicopter strike in Syria killed a commander from Lebanon's Hezbollah and the son of the group's late military leader Imad Moughniyah, sources close to Hezbollah said, in a major blow that could lead to reprisal attacks.
The strike hit a convoy carrying Jihad Moughniyah and other Hezbollah members including commander Abu Issa, in the Syrian province of Quneitra, near the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, Lebanese sources said, killing five Hezbollah members in all.
It comes just days after Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said frequent Israeli strikes in Syria were a major aggression, that the group was stronger than before and that Syria and its allies had the right to respond.
The Hezbollah-run Al Manar news channel said the attack suggested "the enemy has gone crazy because of Hezbollah's growing capabilities and it could lead to a costly adventure that will put the Middle East at stake".
An Israeli security source confirmed that the Israeli military had carried out the attack. It was not immediately clear what role Jihad Moughniyah, in his 20s, was playing in the fighting in Syria.
Hezbollah had accused Israel in 2008 of assassinating his father Imad Moughniyah, who was head of the Hezbollah security network and accused of involvement in high-profile attacks on Western targets. Israel denies any involvement in that killing. UN peacekeepers intensified their patrols on the border between Lebanon and Israel yesterday night, local sources said.
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