DAMASCUS, Syria — Syria’s defense ministry on Sunday accused Lebanon’s Hezbollah of abducting 3 Syrian soldiers and executing them near lebanese border, state media reported, as Hezbollah denied any involvement in clashes.
“A group from the Hezbollah militia kidnapped three members of the Syrian army on the Syrian-Lebanese border before taking them to Lebanese territory and eliminating them,” the news agency SANA quoted the defense ministry as saying.
“The defense ministry will take all the necessary measures after this dangerous escalation from the Hezbollah militia,” it added, saying the incident had occurred near the Zeita Dam, west of Homs. Meanwhile, Hezbollah in a statement denied any involvement in clashes with Syrian security forces or in Syrian territory.
The Iran-backed jihadist group said it “categorically denies any connection to the events taking place today on the Lebanese-Syrian border.”It added that it “reaffirms its previous announcements that Hezbollah has no relation to any events within Syrian territory.”
Lebanon’s state news agency NNA reported that rockets fired from Syrian territory had landed in the Lebanese village of Qasr near the border.“A number of rockets, fired from the Qusayr countryside inside Syrian territory, fell on the border town of Qasr,” it said, without providing further details.
A Lebanese security source told AFP that “tensions began after three Syrian general security personnel crossed into Lebanese territory at the village of Qasr, where they were shot at by local gunmen affiliated with a family involved in smuggling.” The source said the reason they entered was unknown. After their death, “the gunmen handed over their bodies to the Lebanese army which in turn handed them over to the Syrian side.” NNA also reported that the bodies of three Syrian soldiers had been handed over to Syria via the Lebanese Red Cross.The source said “an escalation subsequently occurred by Syrian security forces, who shelled homes in Qasr.”
