Special to WorldTribune.com

NICOSIA — Hizbullah continues to see mounting casualties in the
civil war in Syria.

Syrian opposition sources said Hizbullah sustained casualties in the
assault by the Syrian military on the Sunni rebel stronghold of Homs. They
said the latest casualties included a senior Hizbullah commander.

“Hizbullah is not announcing these [casualties], but we know this from our friends in Lebanon, where funerals are constantly being held for fighters killed in Syria,” an opposition source said.

On July 11, the opposition reported the killing of four Hizbullah troops in the campaign against Homs.

One of the dead was identified as Firas Capelli, said to be the head of Hizbullah operations in Homs.

Other casualties were identified as Ibrahim Muselmani, Abbas Merhi and Hossam Zarkali. The sources said they were buried in the Bekaa Valley.

Hizbullah has acknowledged unspecified casualties in the Syrian war, which began in April 2011.

The opposition has estimated that Hizbullah was deploying at least 10,000 troops in Syria, including the northern city of Aleppo.

“Estimates of the Hizbullah casualties exceed 250, which is not insignificant,” the source said.

  Abbas Merhi, Aleppo, Hossam Zarkali, Ibrahim Muselmani, Sunni rebels, Top commander among Hizbullah killed in battle for Syrian rebel stronghold