ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST:
Iran says an Israeli airstrike in Syria has killed one of its generals. The Lebanese Shiite militia, Hezbollah, also says six of its operatives died. Israel has not commented. NPR's Alice Fordham reports there have been angry responses from both Iran and Hezbollah.
ALICE FORDHAM, BYLINE: Both Hezbollah and Iran are allies of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad as he fights for control of a country in the grip of civil war. An Iranian statement says Brigadier General Mohammad Ali Allahdadi from the Revolutionary Guard Corps was on assignment advising Syrian forces when he was killed Sunday. Hezbollah's media announced the death of Jihad Mughniyeh, son of the late strategist Imad Mughniyeh, among six killed.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says a house and two cars were hit in the Quneitra region, less than 10 miles from the Israeli border area. Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif condemned the strike as a terrorist attack.
UNIDENTIFIED MEN: (Chanting in foreign language).
FORDHAM: At Mughniyeh's funeral today, young men chanted religious slogans. Just last week, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah warned Israel not underestimate its powers in a TV interview. Lebanese analyst Hilal Khashan says this is a blow to them.
HILAL KHASHAN: You know, what happened yesterday was major.
FORDHAM: He says the group is stretched thin in Syria, making it less likely they will strike back. But other analysts think the group will be humiliated if it does not take action. And Hezbollah officials were quoted anonymously in Lebanese media saying they were seeking a calculated response. Alice Fordham, NPR News.