Slain Hezbollah commander fought in some of the group’s biggest battles, had close ties to leaders

By BASSEM MROUE
Associated Press

BEIRUT (AP) — The elite Hezbollah commander who was killed in an Israeli airstrike in southern Lebanon fought for the militant group for decades and took part in some of its biggest battles. Wissam al-Tawil was a commander in Hezbollah’s secretive Radwan Force, which is deployed along the border with Israel. He was killed Monday when a strike hit his SUV in his hometown. The strike was about 10 kilometers (6 miles) from the border where the two sides have exchanged fire for three months. Israeli officials have been demanding for weeks that the Radwan Force withdraw from the border area to allow Israelis displaced by the fighting to return to their homes.