BEIRUT // The son of late Hizbollah military leader Imad Moughniyah was killed yesterday when an Israeli helicopter fired missiles at his car in the Syrian province of Quneitra, two sources close to the Lebanese militant movement said.
Jihad Moughniyah was killed with four other members of Hizbollah when his convoy was hit near the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, the sources said. His father was assassinated in Damascus in 2008.
Meanwhile, a delegation of US senators led by John McCain have met separately with Saudi Arabia’s crown prince Salman and Qatar’s emir, apparently for talks on training Syrian rebels.
As they met, hundreds of civilians fled rebel-held areas near Damascus that had been blockaded for over a year.
Saudi Arabia and Qatar are staunch supporters of Syria’s opposition, which is mired in a nearly four-year civil war to overthrow president Bashar Al Assad.
The meetings took place on Saturday, a day after the Pentagon said that as many as 1,000 US troops and support personnel would be sent to Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar to help train vetted Syrian rebels.
Rear Adm John Kirby, a Pentagon spokesman, said the training by a mix of US special and conventional forces could begin as early as this spring.
A message on the official Twitter feed for Mr McCain said the US delegation met with the commander of Saudi Arabia’s training and equipment programme and with Ahmed Al Jarba, leader of the western-backed Syrian National Coalition.
The US senators also met in neighbouring Qatar the country’s emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.
In Syria, meanwhile, hundreds of civilians fled from rebel-held towns east of Damascus that had been blockaded for at least 18 months.
Hundreds of women and children could be seen in footage aired by the Lebanese channel Al Mayadeen sitting in what appeared to be a large courtyard.
One of the women said rebel fighters seized men fleeing with them. They also warned the fleeing civilians that the government forces would start hitting “as soon as you leave”.
The woman said they had been eating stale cracked wheat and barley to survive.
Government forces and rebels use blockades to pressure their foes to surrender, often causing suffering for civilians.
State-run media said about 2,000 civilians fled, including more than 1,000 children and 350 gunmen who surrendered. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights put the number at 1,200. It was not clear why Syrian authorities allowed the people to flee.
* Reutes, Associated Press
