On Friday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that a Hezbollah commander and his bodyguard, both Lebanese citizens, were killed in an attack in the western countryside of Aleppo, Syria.
According to the Observatory, the attack was carried out by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham militants, who targeted the military vehicle of the Hezbollah commander and his bodyguard with a guided missile.
A Syrian national was also killed in the attack. This marks the first fatalities for Hezbollah in Syria this year.
Hezbollah, a political and military organization based in Lebanon, has played a significant role in supporting the Syrian government in the ongoing conflict, which began in 2011.
Since openly intervening on the side of President Bashar al-Assad’s forces in 2012, around 2,000 Hezbollah fighters, including senior commanders, died in the Syrian war.
The group has faced criticism and backlash for its involvement in the conflict, with some accusing it of propping up the Assad regime and committing human rights abuses.
