BEIRUT — A driver struck several Hezbollah supporters on motorcycles on Friday during the funeral procession of two individuals on the Sarafand-Aaqbiyeh road in southern Lebanon. Four people were wounded as a result of the incident. It remains unclear whether the driver, who was later arrested by the Lebanese Army,  intentionally hit the mourners. 

Following that, young men from the funeral set fire to the car that had been used by the perpetrator.

Residents of Aaqbiyeh reported that the driver is a supporter of Sheikh Ahmad al-Assir and was imprisoned on charges of belonging to Assir's group. The man is from the village of Yarine (Sour district) and a resident of Aaqbiyeh.

Ahmad al-Assir was arrested in 2015 and sentenced to death for leading deadly clashes against the Lebanese Army in Abra, a suburb of Saida, in 2013.

Local media outlets initially reported that M.A. is Palestinian. However, the Fatah movement's media official, Mohammad Bekai, said in a statement that the person who struck the mourners is Lebanese and does not hold Palestinian nationality.

Bekai denounced attempts to "drag the name of the Palestinian people into this unfortunate incident, emphasizing the depth of the fraternal relationship between the Lebanese and Palestinian peoples, based on solidarity and common destiny in the face of [Israel] and its continuous attacks on Lebanon."

Later on Friday, the perpetrator's family expressed their "surprise" at the incident, in a statement quoted by the state-run National News Agency (NNA). "We call on the authorities to take charge of our son and take the necessary measures. We totally dissociate ourselves from this act, which does not represent us in any way, shape or form," the statement reads. They added praise for "those who have paid with their blood for the defense of the homeland."

Reporting contributed by Muntasser Abdallah.