Syrian Al Qaeda branch claims killing 12 Hezbollah members

The Nusra Front, an affiliate of the Al Qaeda in Syria, said on Friday that it killed 12 members of the Lebanese Shia Islamist militant group Hezbollah in the region of al-Qalamoun, north of Damascus, on the border with Lebanon.

On a Nusra Front Twitter account, the authenticity of which has not been verified, the group revealed that it killed members of the "apostate gang", referring to Hezbollah, by targeting the 12 victims with a missile, five of whom were allegedly in a tent, Efe news agency reported.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported on Thursday night that the Nusra Front had attacked positions of the Syrian regime forces and its allies in the highlands of al-Qalamoun, resulting in an unknown number of casualties.

Hezbollah supports the regime of Bashar al-Assad and has been sending reinforcement troops to Syria to fight the opponents of the government.

So far, the Lebanese Shia organisation has not confirmed the casualties.

March 16 marked the fourth anniversary of the start of the Syrian conflict, which has resulted in the death of 220,000 people, and the displacement of more than four million refugees, according to the UN.