BEIRUT: Hezbollah has held the funerals of 19 fighters killed in battles in Syria over the past 10 days, security sources told The Daily Star Thursday.
The sources, who requested to remain anonymous, said the funeral of party fighter Majd Fouad Hajj Hasan, the nephew of Hezbollah caretaker Agriculture Minister Hussein Hajj Hasan, was held in the Beirut southern suburb of Burj al-Barajneh Thursday.
The sources said Hajj Hasan was killed during ongoing battles between the Syrian army and rebels around the Qalamoun range spanning Syria and Lebanon. They added that the Hezbollah fighter’s body was brought from Syria across the northern border into Lebanon at dawn Thursday.
Besides Qalamoun, Hezbollah fighters are assisting troops loyal to Syrian President Bashar Assad in other areas across Syria, including the suburbs of Damascus, where fierce battles have been taking place over the past days.