Hezbollah announces death of Samir Kuntar in Israeli airstrike on Syria suburb

Hezbollah has confirmed reports of an Israeli airstrike destroying a building in the Syrian capital’s eastern Jaramana district and the death of Hezbollah-linked militant leader Samir Kuntar, of the Palestine Liberation Front.

Damascus radio station Sham FM has reported that Kuntar’s body was recovered from under the wreckage of the building.

Kuntar is one of the most hated militant leaders in Israel as he took part in 1979 PLF raid in Israel that killed four people. The attack took place in northern Israeli town of Nahariya. Israel described the attack as an extremely brutal terrorist act.

The then-teenager was detained and spent 29 years in Israeli prison. In 2008, Kuntar was released in an Israeli-Hezbollah prisoner exchange. His name caused further controversy as he and other prisoners were welcomed at home with celebratory ceremony involving government officials and the head of state. Kuntar later became known as a leader of militia based in Hader and a loyalist to the Syrian government.

Source: MENA