Lebanese security forces have arrested seven Syrians on suspicion of involvement in the abduction and murder of Lebanese Forces politician Pascal Sleiman opposed to the Syrian government, a judicial official said Tuesday.

Sleiman was the coordinator in the Byblos (Jbeil) area, north of Beirut, for the Lebanese Forces which opposes Damascus and its ally Hezbollah.

Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi called Tuesday for self-control and restraint after the killing of Lebanese Forces Jbeil coordinator Pascal Sleiman sparked outrage and condemnation across Lebanon.

After the army's investigation said that Sleiman was killed by a gang while they were trying to steal his car, the Lebanese Forces said they consider Sleiman's killing "a political assassination until proven otherwise" but called on supporters to stop blocking roads.

An Iranian general killed in a strike in Syria's capital was a member of Hezbollah's Shura Council, the powerful Lebanese group's decision-making body, a source close to the movement said.

The April 1 air strike levelled the Iranian embassy's consular annex in Damascus, killing seven Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) members, including two generals.

Syrian kidnappers killed a Lebanese local political official belonging to a party that opposes Hezbollah, in a case that shook the country.

Pascal Sleiman was local coordinator in the Jbeil (Byblos) area, north of Beirut, for the Christian Lebanese Forces party that opposes Damascus and its ally Hezbollah -- which has been exchanging near-daily cross-border fire with Israel since Israel began fighting Hamas militants in Gaza six months ago.

The Lebanese Forces’ coordinator in Jbeil, Pascal Sleiman, was killed during the attempt to steal his car Sunday in the Jbeil district, the Lebanese Army announced on Monday, after the man’s reported abduction raised tensions in the country and prompted protesters to block the vital Jbeil highway.

“The army’s Intelligence Directorate has managed to arrest most of the Syrian members of the gang that carried out the abduction operation,” the army said in a statement.

Hezbollah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah on Monday lashed out at the Lebanese Forces and the Kataeb Party in connection with the abduction of the LF’s Jbeil official Pascal Sleiman.

“After the LF’s coordinator in Jbeil was kidnapped yesterday, the LF party, Katab and malicious TV stations decided that it was Hezbollah who kidnapped him and we heard very detestable sectarian remarks that remind of civil war,” Nasrallah said in a speech commemorating slain Iranian general Mohammad Reza Zahedi.

Hezbollah and the Amal Movement are “dealing positively and flexibly with U.S. mediator Amos Hochstein in his endeavor to provide the appropriate political atmosphere for the implementation of Resolution 1701,” a source close to the two parties said.

The unprecedented Israeli military escalation against Lebanon is aimed at “dragging us” into “an all-out war,” Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri has said.

Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati and visiting Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides on Monday discussed the Syrian refugee crisis, Beirut said, as Nicosia pushes the Lebanese authorities to stem boat departures.

Cyprus says the Israel-Hamas war since October, which has triggered a flare-up on the Israel-Lebanon border, has weakened Lebanon's efforts to monitor its territorial waters and prevent migrant vessel departures, reporting a surge in Syrian arrivals.

The Israeli military said Monday it killed a Hezbollah commander in an overnight air strike in Lebanon, as cross-border violence flares between Israel and the Iran-backed armed group.

Ali Ahmed Hussein of Hezbollah's elite Radwan Forces was "eliminated" by Israeli jets in the area of Sultaniyeh in southern Lebanon, the military said in a statement, accusing him of attacks against Israeli targets in recent months.