Iran-aligned Lebanese militant group Hezbollah said on Saturday (Sept 21) that a second senior commander was among 15 of its fighters killed in an Israeli air strike on its Beirut stronghold the previous day.
Hezbollah said Ahmed Mahmud Wahbi led the military operations of its elite Radwan Force in support of Hamas between October 7 when the Palestinian militant group attacked Israel, triggering the Gaza war at the start of this year.
The Israeli military said that its air strike on Beirut’s southern suburbs on Friday eliminated Radwan Force chief Ibrahim Aqil and several other commanders.
Who was the first Hezbollah commander killed in Israeli strike?
On Friday, the Israeli military said citing sources that Aqil had been killed with other senior members of an elite Hezbollah unit in the airstrike. The Lebanese militant group confirmed Aqil’s death in a statement just after midnight that called him “one of its top leaders,” without providing details of how he died.
In a second statement issued later, Hezbollah said Aqil was killed in Beirut’s southern suburbs of Dahiyeh in what it called a “treacherous Israeli assassination.”
According to Lebanon’s health ministry, at least 14 people were killed in the strike and the death toll was expected to rise as rescue teams worked through. The ministry did not reveal whether the toll included Aqil or any other Hezbollah commanders.
66 people injured in strikes
Earlier, the ministry said at least 66 people were injured, nine of whom were in critical condition.
Till now, only Wahbi and Aqil are the commanders Hezbollah said that had been killed in Friday’s strike. Citing a security source, a report by the news agency Reuters said at least six other Hezbollah commanders died in the strike.
The militant group said that several of its members were killed but it did not disclose whether they were commanders or its foot soldiers.
(With inputs from agencies)
