3 Syrian troops killed in Lebanon; Damascus accuses Hezbollah of seizing, killing them
Terror group denies involvement, and Lebanese source claims the soldiers crossed the border and were shot by local gunmen in village of Qasr; Syria said to fire missiles at town
DAMASCUS, Syria — Syria’s defense ministry on Sunday accused Lebanon’s Hezbollah terror group of abducting three Syrian soldiers to Lebanon and killing them there, state media reported, as Hezbollah denied any involvement in clashes.
“A group from the Hezbollah militia kidnapped three members of the Syrian army on the Syrian-Lebanese border before taking them to Lebanese territory and eliminating them,” the news agency SANA quoted the defense ministry as saying.
“The defense ministry will take all the necessary measures after this dangerous escalation from the Hezbollah militia,” it added, saying the incident had occurred near the Zeita Dam, west of Homs.
Meanwhile, Hezbollah in a statement denied any involvement in clashes with Syrian security forces or in Syrian territory.
The Iran-backed jihadist group said it “categorically denies any connection to the events taking place today on the Lebanese-Syrian border.”
It added that it “reaffirms its previous announcements that Hezbollah has no relation to any events within Syrian territory.”
Three HTS terrorists were killed by Hezbollah and its terror affiliates after crossing into Lebanon. Their bodies were found in the Qasr area and recovered by the Lebanese Red Cross. pic.twitter.com/YAAtPsQf1g
— Open Source Intel (@Osint613) March 16, 2025
Lebanon’s state news agency NNA reported that rockets fired from Syrian territory had landed in the Lebanese village of Qasr near the border.
“A number of rockets, fired from the Qusayr countryside inside Syrian territory, fell on the border town of Qasr,” it said, without providing further details.
الحدودية اللبنانية السورية في هذه اللحظات.
برمو صواريخ ع بعض pic.twitter.com/eDkRcou8XC
— Hanzala (@Hanzpal2) March 16, 2025
A Lebanese security source told AFP that “tensions began after three Syrian general security personnel crossed into Lebanese territory at the village of Qasr, where they were shot at by local gunmen affiliated with a family involved in smuggling.”
The source said the reason they entered was unknown.
After their death, “the gunmen handed over their bodies to the Lebanese army which in turn handed them over to the Syrian side.”
NNA also reported that the bodies of three Syrian soldiers had been handed over to Syria via the Lebanese Red Cross.
The source said “an escalation subsequently occurred by Syrian security forces, who shelled homes in Qasr.”
Hezbollah was a key backer of Syria’s former president Bashar al-Assad before he was toppled in a lightning offensive by Islamist-led rebels in December.
Under Assad, Syria became a staging ground for the smuggling of countless Iran-linked weapons to Hezbollah, which has fought several wars with Israel and lauched tens of thousands of rockets at the Jewish state over the years, including more than a year of war sparked when the Lebanese terror group attacked unprovoked on October 8, 2023, a day after its Palestinian ally Hamas launched its murderous October 7 onslaught near Gaza. Hezbollah and Hamas are sworn to Israel’s destruction.
Syria’s new authorities announced last month the launch of a security campaign in the border province of Homs, aimed at shutting down routes used for arms and goods smuggling.
They accused Hezbollah of launching attacks, saying it was sponsoring cross-border smuggling gangs.
The Times of Israel Community.