29
Oct
Tehran, Oct 29 (IANS) Iran-backed Hezbollah has announced that one of its founding members, 71-year-old Naim Qassem, who has served as Deputy Secretary General of the Lebanese group since 1991, will be its new chief. A veteran figure in the group, which is designated as a terrorist organisation by several countries, Qassem succeeds Hassan Nasrallah, who was killed more than a month ago in an Israeli bombing. On October 22, Israel confirmed that it had also eliminated Hashem Safieddine, the apparent successor of the former leader, in Beirut three weeks ago. Qassem, one of the founders of Hezbollah in 1982,…