Hezbollah's second in command defends Syria involvement

Hezbollah's second in command Naim Qassem on Sunday stood up for the Shiite group's involvement in Syria as a precaution to prevent a similar conflict inside Lebanon. "We have interfered to avoid the spread of the Syrian civil war into Lebanon. Preventing same violent incidents from happening in Lebanon is the duty of Hezbollah," Qassem told a memorial ceremony in southern Lebanon held for Hezbollah militants killed while fighting alongside regime forces against Syria rebels trying to topple President Bashar al-Assad. Qassem said the militant group had made "significant achievements in Syria that would affect the country's future." As many as 3,000 to 10,000 Iranian-backed Hezbollah fighters are believed to be present in the battlefield in Syria as a latest French estimate had put the figure between 3,000 to 4,000.