Iranian General Killed in Israeli Airstrike

An Israeli airstrike in Syria resulted in the deaths of a number of fighters, including high-ranking members of Hezbollah and an Iranian general.

Haaretz reports the strike took place near the Golan Heights, a contested territory held by both Syria and Israel. The strike killed six fighters. Among them were Jihad Mugniyeh, and Gen. Mohammed Allahdadi.

Mugniyeh was the son of Hezbollah's last military chief, the now deceased Imad Muginyeh. Allahdadi was a general in the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, a special paramilitary organization established by the Iranian government to safeguard the gains of the 1979 Islamic revolution.

Hezbollah fighters have been active in Syria to back the forces of Iran's ally, Bashar al-Assad. The Revolutionary Guard is primarily active in Syria providing training and strategic guidance to Syrian government forces.

Reuters reports that the deaths of such prominent members of Hezbollah and the Revolutionary Guard may lead to more violence between Israel and Hezbollah. An Israeli defense official told Reuters that such an escalation was, "definitely possible."

The official said that a total war between Hezbollah and Israel was unlikely, but that Hezbollah may try to attack Israeli and Jewish interests around the world. Hezbollah has been fingered for such attacks before, such as a 1994 bombing of a Jewish community center in Buenos Aires.

Israel has not officially taken credit for the strike, but the dearth of other possible actors in such a scenario means the attack was almost certainly the work of Israel.

Reuters says the funeral for Muginyeh was the largest Hezbollah related funeral since the funeral of Muginyeh's father in 2008. The elder Muginyeh was instrumental to the foundation of Hezbollah in the 1980s, and the Muginyehs are widely respected in the region for this.