Syrian pro-government analyst assassinated

A Syrian pro-government political analyst was gunned down in an ambush Wednesday by a group of militants in southern Lebanon.

Mohammad Dirar Jammo, the head of political and international relations in the Global Arab Expatriates Organization, was assassinated by an "armed terrorist group" outside his house in al-Sarfand town, Xinhua quoted the Syrian official SANA news agency as saying.

Jammo, who often appears on Arab TVs to defend the Syrian government, was married to a Lebanese woman and lives in the coastal town of Sarfand.

The attackers fled after the attack. Investigation has been launched by the Lebanese authority to arrest them, security source told Xinhua.

Syrian rebel groups have threatened to strike in Lebanon after Hezbollah joined Syrian troops to fight against them.

On Tuesday, a roadside bomb exploded on an international highway linking Lebanon's capital Beirut to Damascus near the Al Masnaa crossing point, leaving five people injured.