Mohammad Srour, head of Hezbollah’s drone unit. Photo released by the Hezbollah.
The head of Hezbollah’s drone unit, Mohammad Srour, was killed in an Israeli strike on the southern suburbs of Beirut on Thursday, confirmed the party in a statement. "With great pride and honor, the Islamic Resistance announces the martyrdom of Commander Mujahid Mohammad Hussein Srour," Hezbollah declared.
Srour was born in Aita al-Shaab, in southern Lebanon, on July 8, 1973, according to the statement. He joined "the ranks of the Islamic Resistance in 1986." Over the years, he "climbed the ranks of the resistance’s organizational structure, receiving numerous advanced leadership trainings." The statement added that "Srour participated in several Islamic Resistance operations against the Israeli occupation." He also "played a crucial role in repelling attacks by Takfiri groups along Lebanon's eastern borders, as well as in various Syrian provinces."
Srour became the head of Hezbollah’s air unit in 2020 and led it "until his martyrdom." "He was martyred on the path to Jerusalem during a treacherous Israeli assassination operation on Sept. 29, 2024, in the southern suburbs of Beirut," the party concluded.
Killed by Israeli fighter jets
The Israeli military announced hours earlier that they had killed the commander of Hezbollah's drone unit. "Fighter jets targeted and eliminated (Mohammad Srour, editor's note), the commander of Hezbollah’s air unit, in Beirut," the Israeli military said in a statement.
A source close to the party told AFP that Srour, a mathematician, was among the high-ranking commanders sent to Yemen to train the Houthi rebels, who are also supported by Iran. This marks the fourth strike in a week targeting Hezbollah’s stronghold near the Lebanese capital.
The state-run National News Agency (NNA) reported that "three missiles" had targeted "a residential apartment in a 10-story building" in this densely populated southern suburb of Beirut. According to the Lebanese Ministry of Health, "the Israeli enemy’s strike on the southern suburbs of Beirut killed two people and injured fifteen others, including a woman in critical condition."
The target was not far from the location of another strike on Sept. 20 that killed Ibrahim Aqil, the commander of Hezbollah's elite unit, along with several other officials. That strike resulted in 55 deaths, including seven children, according to the Lebanese Ministry of Health.
