19 Jan, 2015 11:52

Iranian general, son of ex-Hezbollah leader, killed in Israeli airstrike in Syria

Iran has confirmed the death of a general with the Revolutionary Guard in an Israeli helicopter strike, carried out in Syria.

#Iran #IRGC Gen. Allahdadi martyred in tonight's Israeli attack in #Syria along w/ #Hezbollah commanders pic.twitter.com/kSX0TUcQbo
— H.Soleimani (@MashreghNews_ir) January 18, 2015

The confirmation came in a statement published Monday on the website of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard.

At the time of the attack, General Allahdadi was on an assignment, giving "crucial advice" to the Syrian armed forces, battling extremists.

Iranain Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif told local media that the helicopter attack was "an act of terror," and issued a strong condemnation, Press TV reported.

This is #IRGC commander Col. Muhammad Allah Dadi, killed yesterday in #Syria strike pic.twitter.com/dnCRBRuYev
— Elhanan Miller (@ElhananMiller) January 19, 2015

According to the media report, the attack on Sunday, near the city of El Quneitra, killed six Iranian Revolutionary Guard officials.

Among them was a son of an ex-Hezbollah commander.

Local media say that their car was en route from Lebanon to Syria when it was targeted by an Israeli helicopter.

"Following the Zionist aggressions against the resistance in Syria, General Mohammad Allahdadi, a former commander of the Sarollah Brigade of the Revolutionary Guard, was martyred along with Jihad Moughniyah and three others in the same car," the Dana news website said, referring to the son of Hezbollah's late military leader, Imad Moughniyah.

Hezbollah officials on Monday vowed retaliation after the attack, various media in the region are reporting.

A source close to Hezbollah told Lebanese daily Al-Safir that they “will not rush to decide what steps should be taken” in response to the assassination of Jihad Moughniyah.

Newspaper Al-Akhbar wrote Monday that the group "will launch between 4,000-5,000 rockets at Israel and will destroy hundreds of targets per day."

"The enemy's leadership made a decision to carry out a crime," the paper continued, adding that "this is more proof that Israel is involved in the fighting in Syria. This is work that is not based on emotion or petty score-settling."

Hezbollah has been allied with Iran in Syria, where it helped President Bashar Assad fight an Islamist insurgency.

Mughniyeh, 25, was the commander of a Hezbollah unit fighting Islamic State and other jihadist groups.

Mughniyeh's father was killed in a 2008 car bombing in Lebanon, which was widely suspected to be the work of Israel.