Hezbollah says commander killed

One of Hezbollah's commanders was killed in Beirut, the militant group said.

This is the house of Hassan Al-Laqqis, where the assassination took place around midnight.

The commander was shot in the head while he was driving his car. A gun with a silencer was used.

Hezbollah is blaming Israel, an old rival with whom it fought a month-long war in 2006.

The group describes Al-Laqqis as a leader of the Islamic resistance against the Jewish state.

Israel denied any role in the killing.

A source has said Al-Laqqis had joined battles in neighbouring Syria.

The Shi-ite group has been sending fighters to Syria to support President Bashar al-Assad against mostly Sunni rebels. Such intervention has fueled sectarian violence in Lebanon.