Jamaa Islamiyya official shot dead in Lebanon

By Wasim Saif al-Din

BEIRUT (AA) – An official of Lebanon’s Jamaa Islamiyya group was shot dead in southern Lebanon, the group confirmed on Monday.

Mohammed Jirar, who heads the group’s public relations department, was killed by unidentified gunmen in the southern town of Shebaa late Sunday, the group said in a statement.

The official Lebanese news agency said the attackers had fled the scene unscathed.

The Sunni group mourned Jirar, saying he was killed “while assuming his duties” outside a medical center in Shebaa.

The group commended Jirar’s work in providing social, health and medical services to the people in Lebanon, which is home to thousands of Syrian refugees who fled civil war in their country.