MOSCOW, January 18 (Sputnik) — On Sunday, an Israeli helicopter launched a ‘counterterrorism’ airstrike in the Syria-controlled sector of the Golan Heights due to an alleged threat of a terrorist attack against Israel, an Israeli security source told Agence France-Presse.
The strike occurred near the province Quneitra, located a short distance from the ceasefire line between the Syrian part of the Golan Heights and the territory occupied by Israel, according to the news agency.
Israeli local television confirmed the attack later, Reuters reports.
Syria-Israel conflict dates back to a series of Arab-Israeli military conflicts as result of which Israel established military control over a part of Syria’s Golan Heights in 1967.
According to AFP, some Hezbollah members were killed during the strike. "A group of Hezbollah mujahedeen were martyred in a Zionist rocket attack in Quneitra, and their names will be revealed later," said a statement issued by Hezbollah’s Al-Manar TV channel.
An Israeli Air Force attack killed the Lebanese Hezbollah group commander's son, a Lebanese security source told The Daily Star.
According to the publication, Hezbollah confirmed the death of "a number of mujahedeens" in a statement, adding that their names will be released later. The news outlet added that Hezbollah's field commander Mohammad Issa, known as Abu Issa, has also been killed in the strike.
Hezbollah blamed Imad Mughniyeh's assassination in 2008 on Israel.
Hezbollah is a Lebanon-based Shia militant group established in the 1980s. The group's primary goal was military opposition to the Israeli occupation of Lebanon. The organization has remained hostile toward Israel. The United States and several other countries have declared Hezbollah a terrorist organization.
