ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - The Lebanese group Hezbollah on Sunday denied any involvement in an incident along the Lebanese-Syrian border, following reports that three Syrian soldiers were killed in a suspected ambush.
"We categorically deny any connection to the events that took place today on the Lebanese-Syrian border," Hezbollah’s media relations department said in a statement.
The group reiterated its longstanding position that it has “no involvement in any incidents inside Syrian territory.”
The denial came after Syria’s Ministry of Defense accused Hezbollah fighters of ambushing and abducting three Syrian army soldiers near the Zita Dam, west of Homs, before taking them into Lebanon and executing them.
“The Ministry of Defense will take all necessary measures in response to this dangerous escalation by Hezbollah militias,” the ministry said in a statement to the state-run Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA).
Tensions escalated in the Lebanese border town of al-Qasr, where heavy gunfire and shelling were reported, with explosions originating from the Syrian side of the border.
Lebanon’s National News Agency reported that the Lebanese Red Cross transported three bodies found near an earthen berm in al-Qasr to Hermel Governmental Hospital.
Lebanese security forces have launched an investigation into the incident.
Hezbollah was a staunch supporter of Syria's deposed president Bashar al-Assad.
New authorities in Damascus conducted a security campaign last month in the border province of Homs, aimed at shutting down routes they said were used for arms and goods smuggling.
The new Syrian government has on several occasions accused Hezbollah of sponsoring cross-border smuggling gangs.