At least 20 Hizbullah fighters have been killed during military training in Iran, the Kuwaiti newspaper Al-Watan reported Thursday evening, quoting the Director General of the Islamic Union in Lebanon, Muhammad Ali Husseini.
Hizbullah fighters in training [illustrative].
Photo: AP [file]
The Lebanese official did not say exactly how the fighters were killed, but he made clear that "Hizbullah regards those killed while training in Iran as holy ones who died fulfilling their duties, and this concerns not only Shi'ites, but also Sunnis who are loyal to Hizbullah."
"The training in Iran lies at the heart of our connections with the Iranian Revolutionary Guard", said Husseini, who added that "this is known to all Lebanese people."
This week, the British newspaper The Independent, reported that since November 2006, 4,500 Hizbullah fighters have been sent to Iran for training, with each round of training lasting three months. Every month, 300 Hizbullah fighters fly from Beirut to Teheran, with many of them coming from the villages south of the Litani River, said the report.
According to the newspaper, the fighters are being trained in live munitions and rocket-launchers in preparation for the coming war with Israel. Hizbullah has focused on the most up-to-date weapons in order to prevent Israel from launching another action against Lebanon.
