Syrian Rebels Claim to Have Killed Hezbollah's Deputy Chief

Syrian rebels claim they killed Hezbollah’s Deputy Chief Naim Qassem when they bombed a convoy of high-ranking Syrian government officials near the Lebanon border on Feb. 26.

The Lebanese newspaper al-Mustaqbal reported that the Syrian rebels placed mines “on the Beirut-Damascus highway and [detonated them] as the convoy returned from a high-level security meeting in Lebanon.”

The al-Mustaqbal did not report that Qassem was killed, only that he was injured. However, the Free Syria Army used its Twitter account to announce: “It has been confirmed… that Hezbollah’s number two man died after [receiving] a serious injury.”

Hezbollah has denied the death reports. No other details are forthcoming, as Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah has canceled television appearances due to illness.