BEIRUT – A high-ranking Hezbollah commander has been killed in Aleppo, the latest casualty suffered by the Lebanese party fighting on behalf of the Bashar al-Assad regime in Syria.
A pro-Hezbollah outlet which publicizes funerals of the party's fighters killed "in confrontation with the mercenaries of disbelief and Wahhabism”—a reference to Sunni militants–announced on October 17 the death of Hatem Hamadeh, who was only described as a “commander.”
Another announcement of his “martyrdom” clarified that Hamadeh was the “deputy official of the Radwan Forces,” Hezbollah’s elite special operations unit.
The mourning notices, which were circulated in his predominantly Shiite-populated hometown of Qmatiyeh situated in the mountains outside Aley, did not specify where Hamadeh died.
However, another media outlet that supports Hezbollah revealed that the military official was killed in the “1070 Apartment Projects,” a flashpoint front in the southwestern edge of Aleppo where rebels have engaged in fierce battles against advancing pro-Assad forces.
According to Mulhak news, an IED blew up a vehicle Hamadeh was in, killing him while injuring another field commander and a number of Hezbollah fighters accompanying the two officers.
The pro-Hezbollah outlet claimed that Hamadeh was driving through the “1070 Apartment Projects” after pro-regime troops managed to wrest control of the area from rebels, a battlefield shift not yet reported by pro-opposition sources.
Meanwhile, Al-Jazeera also reported that Hamadeh was killed by an IED that targeted his convoy in Aleppo.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, for its part, said Monday that an unidentified Hezbollah commander was killed in fighting against rebels, but did not specify the circumstances of his death.
Hamadeh, who was also known by his nom de-guerre “Hajj Alaa 125”, was “considered one of the high-ranking figures in the military wing of the party,” according to Mulhak.
The pro-Hezbollah outlet added that he was a close associate of Ali Fayyad, a high-ranking Hezbollah official better known as “Alaa Bosnia” who led a number of the party’s military operations.
Mulhak’s report also noted that Hamadeh played a “prominent role” during Hezbollah’s offensives in the mountainous Qalamoun region that straddles Lebanon’s eastern border.
NOW's English news desk editor Albin Szakola (@AlbinSzakola) wrote this report.
SEE ALSO: 3 men linked to Hezbollah have been accused of laundering money in Miami banks
Join the conversation about this story »
NOW WATCH: EX-PENTAGON CHIEF: These are the 2 main reasons ISIS was born