Pentagon: Death of Hezbollah Leader in Syria Not Result of US Strike

According to Pentagon, Washington is not responsible for the death of a Hezbollah leader.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — The United States did not conduct the airstrike in Syria that resulted in the death of Hezbollah commander Mustafa Badreddine, Operations Inherent Resolve spokesperson Col. Steve Warren said during a press briefing on Friday.

"That is correct," Warren stated when asked to confirm that the United States did not carry out the airstrike. "It is really too soon for us to access right now what impact this [strike] is going to have."

Earlier in the day, media reports emerged claiming that Badreddine had been killed in an Israeli airstrike on Tuesday night, but the exact location of the Israeli airstrike that hit him remains unclear.

A source close to the Lebanese movement which initially reported the incident told RIA Novosti that Badreddine had been killed in an explosion near the Damascus airport in Syria.

Hezbollah, a paramilitary and political organization originating in Lebanon's Shiite population, was established in the 1980s. The group has been fighting alongside the Syrian government against the Daesh Sunni radicals and other extremist militant groups since 2011.

Hezbollah is considered a terrorist organization by a number of countries including Israel, the United States, the United Kingdom and many European states, but not by Russia.