Beirut, September 21 (IANS). Israeli forces bombed the southern area of Beirut on Friday, killing Hezbollah’s top commander Ibrahim Aqeel. Hezbollah has confirmed the death of senior leader Ibrahim Aqeel in an Israeli air strike. Hezbollah mourned the death of Ibrahim Aqeel, the acting commander of its elite Radwan Force.
“The great jihadist leader Ibrahim Aqeel has joined his martyred brothers after a life full of jihad. His life was full of jihad, struggle, sacrifice and victory,” Hezbollah said in a statement late Friday.
Meanwhile, the local MTV channel reported that Aqeel’s body was found along with seven other members of Hezbollah’s elite Radwan Force. The MTV channel had earlier reported that the entire command committee of the elite Radwan Force was meeting in the building that was targeted by Israeli air strikes.
According to news agency Xinhua, civil defence teams are still searching for bodies under the rubble. According to the Health Ministry, 14 people have been killed and 66 others injured in the Israeli airstrikes.
Let us tell you that Hezbollah has fired more than 100 rockets at more than 30 settlements in the western Galilee and a major intelligence base in northern Israel. Hezbollah has taken this action to avenge the Israeli air strike on the southern suburbs of Beirut.
Lebanese military sources had said that Israeli air strikes targeted six locations in southern Lebanon, while artillery shelled 11 border towns during the day.
Tensions have escalated sharply along the Israel-Lebanon border following twin explosions that hit communications equipment in Lebanon earlier this week, killing 37 people and wounding 2,931.
Lebanon’s government condemned the blasts as a violation of its sovereignty and called for an urgent meeting of the UN Security Council. Hezbollah blamed Israel for targeting its units and vowed to retaliate.
–IANS
FZ/
