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Hezbollah commander Hassan Lakkis killed in Beirut

Hassan Lakkis
  • A commander in the militant group, said to have been close to leader Hassan Nasrallah
  • Reported to have trained in Iran in warfare and the manufacture of weapons, explosives and booby traps
  • Possibly a member of a unit within Hezbollah which co-ordinates with Palestinian militants in the West Bank and Gaza
  • Thought to be in his mid-40s
  • One of his sons was killed fighting Israel in 2006 conflict

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

Hassan Lakkis was "assassinated" near his home in Hadath - 7km (4.3 miles) south-east of the Lebanese capital, Hezbollah TV channel Al-Manar said.

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.

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

Analysis By Jim Muir

It is often the case with Hezbollah figures that their significance and even their identity only begins to become apparent after their deaths, and Hassan Lakkis was no exception.

Hezbollah-watchers believe he was a member of a unit within Hezbollah which co-ordinates with Palestinian militants in the West Bank and Gaza, as well as being a weapons and explosives expert.

One of his colleagues, Ghaleb Awali, was killed by a car bomb in southern Beirut in 2004, an incident which Hezbollah also blamed on Israel.

Lakkis's death comes in the context of repeated attacks on Hezbollah's heartland in Beirut's southern suburbs which are seen as connected to the movement's involvement alongside Syrian government forces in their struggle with mainly Sunni rebels.

But Lakkis might be an unlikely target for Sunni militants angered by Hezbollah's role in Syria.
Israel usually does not comment on assassinations in which it is believed to have had a hand, such as the killing of another senior Hezbollah commander Imad Mughniyeh in a bomb explosion in Damascus in 2008. But on this occasion it adamantly denied killing Hassan Lakkis.

Source: BBChttp://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-25211759

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