Hezbollah drone chief killed in Lebanon – IDF

The Israeli military claimed on Thursday that it had killed who it claims is the head of Hezbollah’s drone command, Mohammed Srur, in an airstrike on the Lebanese capital of Beirut.

Srur, also known as Abu Saleh, was supposedly located in the Beirut suburb of Dahiyeh, which Israel has bombed repeatedly since Monday. He was reportedly in charge of Hezbollah’s drone, cruise missile and air defense branch.

The IDF has claimed in a statement that Saleh was killed in the strike. A Lebanese security source allegedly close to Hezbollah has told AFP that Abu Saleh’s fate was “still unclear,” however.

The Lebanese Health Ministry has confirmed that two people were killed in Thursday afternoon’s bombing, but has not released their identities.

According to the IDF, Abu Saleh headed Hezbollah’s drone manufacturing operations in Lebanon. He had previously been the group’s attache in Yemen, where he worked with the Houthis drone and missile forces, the Israeli military claimed.

Israel has killed at least three top Hezbollah commanders since last Friday, including Ibrahim Aqil, Ahmed Wahbi, and Ibrahim Qubaisi. 

More than 700 people have been killed in the IDF air campaign in Lebanon, dubbed “Northern Arrows,” according to the Lebanese authorities.