Hezbollah commander Hassan Lakkis killed in Beirut

A senior commander of the Lebanese Shia militant group Hezbollah has been killed near Beirut, the group says.

Hassan Lakkis was killed near his home in Hadath – 7km (4.3 miles) south-east of the Lebanese capital. He has been buried in the town of Baalbek.

Hezbollah blamed Israel for his death but Israel has denied the accusation.

Little is known publicly about Lakkis, but he was reputedly close to Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and an expert in weapons manufacturing.

Thousands of people turned out for Lakkis’ funeral in Baalbek, a Hezbollah stronghold in eastern Lebanon.

The news comes a day after Hassan Nasrallah said Saudi Arabia was behind last month’s bombings outside the Iranian embassy in Beirut.

Iran is a major backer of Hezbollah, which has sent fighters to Syria to back the government of Bashar al-Assad

 

BBC has the full article

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