Tanks, artillery, machine guns and hundreds of armed gunmen took part in a military parade coordinated by Hezbollah in the Syrian town of Al-Kosair marking the "martyrs day".
The MEMRI institute, which follows reports in the Arab press regarding 'martyrs day," reported that this was the first time Hezbollah had held a parade of this size. It explained that the choice of location was because the town was a symbol of the cooperation between Hezbollah fighters and Assad's Syrian army in their fight against rebel groups.
The city had been emptied of its inhabitants in 2013 when it was conquered by Hezbollah and it became an assembly point for fighters before they went to battle in various parts of Syria.
The parade was widely reported on Hezbollah-affiliated websites together with pictures
Tanks, heavy weapons and other armored units took part in the parade. Some Hezbollah brigades which have only recently been formed and belong to a Lebanese division of the organization also participated in the parade, as well as foot soldiers taking part in the Syrian battles.
The Syrian opposition site Orient News was cited by MEMRI as reporting that Lebanese tanks also took part in the parade and the tanks may have reached the Hezbollah through illegal dealings between Lebanese army officers and the Hezbollah. These sources added that if this is indeed true then it will lead to a cessation of all foreign military aid to the Lebanese army.
Moreover MEMRI reported that the event was attended by Hashem Tzafi El-Din, director of the operations committee of Hezbollah, who represented leader Hassan Nasrallah who is considered the commander of all Hezbollah's operations. El-Din spoke about various political and military issues in Syria.