The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported that a senior leader of the Iraqi Hezbollah was killed in a suspected Israeli drone strike, while another member of the faction was injured.
The incident occurred early Friday when a drone targeted a vehicle carrying the Iraqi Hezbollah leader and his companion along the road to Damascus International Airport.
Eyewitnesses conveyed to the Observatory that the vehicle was found burned on the road.
The targeted leader had a military base and a rest house in the area, though it remains unclear whether he was traveling from the base to the rest house or to another destination at the time of the attack.
The source indicated that there were no loud explosions typical of airstrikes, suggesting that “the target was hit by a precision missile in a detailed assassination operation.”
The area where the strike occurred is known to have numerous military bases belonging to Iraqi, Lebanese, and Syrian Hezbollah, as well as Iranian-controlled militias that dominate the local farms and frequently move their elements and leaders away from the eyes of the regime’s security forces.
United States Department of Defence has expressed growing concern that Israel may be on the verge of launching a ground offensive in southern Lebanon against Hezbollah, according to a report by the Wall Street Journal on Thursday.
The concern follows a wave of deadly explosions involving pagers and walkie-talkies carried by Hezbollah members earlier this week.
US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin had already shared his fears with senior Pentagon officials on Monday, warning that months of escalating rocket and air attacks between Israel and Hezbollah could lead to a broader conflict.
