Israel Matzav

Syrian rebels kill Hezbullah #2?

Lebanese news portal Now Lebanon is reporting that Hezbullah's second-in-command, Naim Qassem was killed in an attack by Syrian rebel forces on Tuesday.

Russia Today on Wednesday cited Hezbollah sources as denying rebel claims that party deputy chief Naim Qassem had been seriously injured or killed in an attack on a convoy Tuesday in Syria.

Syria rebels had posted on Twitter that Qassem had been targeted in an attack on a convoy that killed Syrian regime general Mohammad Ali Durgham.

The sources told Russia Today that they expect Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah would tackle the "false rumors" in the speech he is set to give Wednesday evening.

The same sources also stressed that some media outlets as well as social networks were recently trying to release false statements in an attempt to implicate Hezbollah in the Syrian crisis.

Meanwhile, Free Syrian Army spokesperson Louay Almokdad told NOW that the rebels do not have enough information on the Jdeidat Yabous explosion, in reference to an attack that purportedly hit a convoy of high ranking Syrian and Hezbollah officials Tuesday.

A rebel group had said in a statement that they attacked a convoy transporting Syrian general Mohammad Ali Durgham, injuring the officer and killing a number of Hezbollah members.

The rebels also uploaded a video showing an IED detonation amid a series of cars driving on a winding road.

It doesn't appear to have started yet, but Now Lebanon is going to be carrying Nasrallah's speech live here.   Warning: Nasrallah's speeches last for hours....

UPDATE 6:45 PM

 JPost adds:

Lebanese newspaper al-Mustaqbal quoted the Syrian rebels as saying mines placed on the Beirut-Damascus highway had detonated as the convoy returned from a high-level security meeting in Lebanon. The explosion reportedly took place near the town of Jdeidet Yabous near the Lebanon-Syria border.

The al-Mustaqbal report made no mention of Qassem being killed in the attack, saying that he had merely been injured.

Labels: Free Syrian Army, Hassan Nasrallah, Hezbullah, Naim Qassem

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 5:59 PM