Hizbullah Denies FSA Captured Party Fighters near Damascus

Hizbullah on Saturday denied that a number of its fighters had fallen captive into the hands of rebels in Syria on Thursday.

“Following what was circulated by media outlets about the armed groups in Syria capturing a number of Hizbullah members, Hizbullah categorically denies these baseless reports,” the party's media relations office said in a statement.

It called on media outlets to “seek accuracy and verify their reports before publishing.”

Syrian activists said Friday that the rebel Free Syrian Army captured a number of Hizbullah members in Damascus province following clashes.

“The Free Army has seized control of several posts west of Muadhamiyat al-Sham,” the opposition Local Coordination Committees, a network of peaceful Syrian activists on the ground, announced.

Rebel forces have detained "a number of members belonging to the (Abu al-Fadl) al-Abbas Brigade and Hizbullah," the LCC said.

The Abu al-Fadl al-Abbas Brigade, which is fighting alongside regime troops, is a guerrilla group made up of Shiite fighters who hail primarily from Lebanon, Iran and Iraq.

It says that its objective is to defend Shiite holy shrines, particularly the Sayyeda Zainab shrine in Damascus, from any attacks by hardline Sunni insurgents.

Syrian regime forces backed by elite Hizbullah fighters on Wednesday managed to recapture the strategic town of Qusayr near Lebanon's border from rebel hands following a fierce assault.

Hizbullah chief Nasrallah had previously justified the group's involvement in Syria by saying they were defending Lebanese-inhabited border villages inside Syria and Shiite holy sites in the Damascus province.

But during a May 25 speech marking the 13th anniversary of Israel's military withdrawal from Lebanon, Nasrallah said the hardline Takfiris are the “most prevailing group in the Syrian opposition,” warning against a defeat against them in the ongoing war in Syria.

He said: “If Syria falls in the hands of the Takfiris and the United States, the resistance will become under a siege and Israel will enter Lebanon. If Syria falls, the Palestinian cause will be lost.”