BEIRUT: An Israeli strike on Syria killed an Iranian general, Tehran confirmed Monday, as Lebanon´s Hezbollah movement buried one of six of its fighters killed in the same raid.
The Sunday attack, near Quneitra on the Syrian-controlled side of the Golan Heights, enraged Hezbollah´s supporters, but analysts said the group would avoid a major escalation with Israel.
Iran´s elite Revolutionary Guards confirmed the death of one of their generals in a statement on their website.
“General Mohammad Ali Allahdadi and a number of fighters and Islamic Resistance (Hezbollah) forces were attacked by the Zionist regime´s helicopters,” it said.
“This brave general and some members of Hezbollah were martyred.”
A source close to Hezbollah said six Iranians had been killed in the attack. Hezbollah told AFP that it was not the source of that toll.
Among Hezbollah´s dead was Jihad Mughniyeh, the son of an assassinated commander from the group, and Mohammed Issa, a commander responsible for Hezbollah´s operations in Syria and Iraq.
Once solely focused on fighting Israel, Hezbollah is now deeply involved in the war in neighbouring Syria, where it backs President Bashar al-Assad.
With its forces spread thin, and little appetite in fragile Lebanon for a new conflict with Israel, analysts said Hezbollah would seek to respond to the raid without provoking a full-on war.