Does the Return of Dead Hezbollah Militants From Syria Prove They Are Fighting For Assad?

Let's see....Hezbollah commanders and foot soldiers are coming back to Lebanon from Syria deader than doornails to be buried and yet the press isn't sure if they are fighting for Assad in Syria.  Well, they ain't fighting for the rebels, I guarantee you that.

But hey, even one dead Hezbollah is worth celebrating - I don't care if al Qaeda got 'em or just some run of the mill Sunni rebel - as long as we get to see Hezbollah bodies poured into the earth, is all that matters.

The story comes from The Telegraph.

Hizbollah mourns its dead from Syrian fighting


The body of one of the Shia movement's commanders was returned to Lebanon through the Masnaa border crossing on Sunday, a senior Lebanese security official was quoted as saying.

The corpses of several other fighters had also been repatriated in the preceding days, he added.

Although it was unclear whether the men had been killed while fighting alongside the Syrian army, Hizbollah's newspaper al-Intiqad reported that the commander, identified as Ali Hussein Nassif, had died "while performing his jihadi duties".

A Syrian opposition activist said that Nassif had been killed when a roadside bomb struck a vehicle in Qusayr, a town in western Syria close to the Lebanese border that has fiercely contested all year.

Although Qusayr is mostly under rebel control, the commander was killed along the town's main road, which remains in government hands, according to activists.



Hizbollah, which is funded and armed by both Syria and Iran, has openly supported President Bashar al-Assad since the uprising began, a fact that has lost the movement widespread support in the Arab world, where it was once revered because of its attacks on Israel.

In August American intelligence officials said they believed that, despite its close relationship with the Assad regime, Hizbollah had stopped short of carrying out operations or attacks.

In recent weeks, however, obituaries for Hizbollah fighters have been appearing in local newspapers affiliated with the group without the cause of death being explained.

Hizbollah's previous wariness about open involvement in the Syrian civil war reflects the group's desire not to undermine further its claim to be a "popular resistance" movement.

If it is playing a direct role, Hizbollah may have concluded that the Assad regime would collapse without its support.

Were President Bashar al-Assad to be toppled, Hizbollah stands to lose its supply lines from Iran, which pass through Syria.