Hezbollah fighters kill ISIL commander near Syria

A notorious commander of the ISIL Takfiri terrorist group operating in areas straddling the Syrian-Lebanese border has been killed in an operation by Lebanon’s resistance movement, Hezbollah.

The Lebanese al-Manar TV said Saturday that the commander, identified as Abu Khattab, was killed in an operation in the village of Qaa, northeastern Lebanon.

It said Hezbollah fighters launched an offensive into the hideouts of terrorists in the Zuwaitinah area of Ras Baalbek. A number of other terrorists were also killed in the operation, Manar said, adding that Abu Khattab and his companions were traveling by a vehicle when they were targeted by a guided missile.

Abu Khattab was reportedly the operations chief of ISIL in the area.

Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, Hezbollah’s secretary general, vowed Friday that the resistance fighters would work to ensure security in the Bekaa valley, where villages such as Qaa are located.

The Saturday operation was conducted near the site of recent terrorist attacks claimed by ISIL in Qaa.

At least six people were killed and nearly 20 others injured in terrorist explosions in Qaa on June 27.

Hezbollah denounced the blasts, saying that some countries and entities in the Middle East and across the world are providing terrorists with covert and overt support. Following the bombing, the Lebanese government declared June 28 as a day of national mourning.

SS