​​Syria’s Defense Ministry on Sunday accused Lebanon’s Hezbollah of abducting and killing three Syrian soldiers, according to Syrian state media.

The report of Syrian Arab News Agency, which quoted the defense ministry’s media office, said the three Syrian soldiers were abducted near the Zeita Dam, west of Homs, before taking them into Lebanese territory and killing them in what it called “a field liquidation. 

“The ministry warned it would take “all necessary measures after this dangerous escalation from the Hezbollah militia.”

The bodies of the three Syrian soldiers were later handed over to Syrian authorities via the Lebanese Red Cross.

Three HTS terrorists were killed by Hezbollah and its terror affiliates after crossing into Lebanon. Their bodies were found in the Qasr area and recovered by the Lebanese Red Cross. pic.twitter.com/YAAtPsQf1g

— Open Source Intel (@Osint613) March 16, 2025

Hezbollah denied the accusations, saying it has no connection to the events taking place on the Lebanese-Syrian border.

In response to the deaths, Syrian forces reportedly shelled homes in Qasr, according to Lebanon’s state news agency NNA. The agency did not specify the source of the rockets. 

BREAKING:

Syrian HTS forces are firing MLRS rounds toward Lebanese Hezbollah forces.

Major clashes are taking place on the Syrian-Lebanese border pic.twitter.com/aANtBheVLY

— Visegrád 24 (@visegrad24) March 16, 2025

A Lebanese security source told AFP that “tensions began after three Syrian general security personnel crossed into Lebanese territory at the village of Qasr, where they were shot at by local gunmen affiliated with a family involved in smuggling.”

In what appears to be a broader escalation, Syrian forces launched over 50 rockets and dozens of artillery shells at Hezbollah sites in Hermel, northeastern Lebanon. The strikes reportedly targeted a Hezbollah command-and-control center and several other sites in the area.

Over 50 rockets and dozens of artillery shells launched by forces under the Syrian Army have reportedly targeted a Hezbollah command-and-control center as well as several other sites around Hermel in Northeastern Lebanon, as residents begin to flee from communities near the… pic.twitter.com/RVox0q84sY

— OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) March 16, 2025

Hezbollah was a key supporter of Syria’s former president Bashar al-Assad until his ouster in December.