Israel says it killed Hezbollah missile commander in Lebanon airstrike

The Israeli military said it killed a high-ranking Hezbollah missile commander in an airstrike in Lebanon Friday.

The Israel Defense Forces said that Ali Abed Akhsan Naim, allegedly the deputy commander of Hezbollah's Rocket and Missile Unit, had been killed in an airstrike in the area of Bazouriye in southern Lebanon.

Hezbollah on Friday acknowledged his death in a statement without giving his title or saying how he died.

The IDF said Friday that he was considered "a significant source of knowledge" in Hezbollah and a "leader in the field of rockets." It added he was one of the Iranian-backed militia's leaders for heavy-warhead rocket fire and "responsible for conducting and planning attacks against Israeli civilians."

Lebanon's National News Agency (NNA) reported on a drone strike on a car near Bazouriye Friday. It said that two people had died in the strike without providing information on their identities.