Israeli Army Chief: Badreddine Killed by His Own Men

Israel has concluded that Hizbullah's top military commander Mustafa Badreddine was killed in Syria last year by rivals within the Iran-backed Lebanese group, Israel's military chief said Tuesday.

Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot, speaking to a security conference, said intelligence gathered had led Israel to the conclusion and matched previous reports.

Badreddine's death last May illustrated "the depth of the internal crisis within Hizbullah," said Eisenkot.

Eisenkot added that Israel "believes that he was killed by his own officers."

He also said it reflected "the extent of the cruelty, complexity and tension between Hizbullah and its patron Iran."

But the head of Hizbullah's media relations department, Mohammed Afif, told LBCI television that Eisenkot's accusations are "false and baseless and do not deserve a response."

An Israeli military official said Israel believes the order to kill Badreddine was given by Hizbullah's leader, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah.

Israeli intelligence believes Badreddine had been feuding with Iranian military commanders in Syria over the heavy losses his group had suffered on the battlefield. Both Iran and Hizbullah are backing Syrian government forces.

The official spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because he was discussing a confidential intelligence assessment.

At the time of his death last year, Hizbullah said Badreddine had been killed by insurgent shelling in Syria. He was considered Hizbullah's top military official and was among five members on trial in absentia at a court in the Netherlands over the bombing that killed former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri and 21 others in Beirut in 2005.

Badreddine was a student of Imad Mughniyeh, Hizbullah's previous military chief, who was considered one of the world's "most-wanted terrorists" by Israel and the United States. Mughniyeh, who was Badreddine's brother-in-law, was killed in a 2008 car bombing in Damascus that Hizbullah blamed on Israel.

Israel and Hizbullah fought a monthlong war in 2006 that ended in a stalemate. Israeli officials say that Hizbullah is far stronger than it was back then and battle-tested after years of fighting in neighboring Syria. They frequently warn that it is only a matter of time before another war breaks out.

But Israeli officials also say the group does not want a confrontation with Israel right now. Hizbullah has gotten bogged down in the Syrian fighting and is believed to have lost hundreds of fighters.

Israel is not actively involved in the Syrian fighting. But it keeps close tabs on the battlefield actions of its enemies, Iran and Hizbullah. Israel is believed to have carried out numerous airstrikes in Syria aimed at suspected weapons shipments destined for Hizbullah.

On Tuesday, the Israeli military confirmed that a "Skylark" surveillance drone crashed in Syria earlier this week. It gave no cause for the crash and said the incident was being investigated, but said there was "no risk of a breach of information."

Last week, Israel shot down a Syrian anti-aircraft missile fired at an Israeli aircraft carrying out an airstrike on a suspected Hizbullah weapons convoy in Syria.