BEIRUT - A senior commander of the Lebanese Shia militant group Hezbollah has been killed near Beirut, the group says.

Hassan Lakkis was "assassinated” near his home in Hadath - 7km (4.3 miles) south-east of the Lebanese capital, Hezbollah TV channel Al-Manar said.

Hezbollah blamed Israel for his death but Israel has denied the accusation.

Little is known publicly about Lakkis, but he was reputedly close to Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and an expert in weapons manufacturing.

The news comes a day after Hassan Nasrallah said Saudi Arabia was behind last month’s bombings outside the Iranian embassy in Beirut. Iran is a major backer of Hezbollah, which has sent fighters to Syria to back the government of Bashar al-Assad.

The conflict in Syria has increased sectarian tensions in its smaller neighbour.

However, the BBC’s Jim Muir, in Beirut, says Lakkis might be an unlikely target for Sunni militants angered by Hezbollah’s role in Syria.

A statement issued by Hezbollah on Wednesday said Lakkis was killed as he returned home from work around midnight.

The group said Israel had tried to kill him several times previously.

Lebanese security officials said assailants lying in wait had opened fire on Lakkis with an assault rifle while he was in his car, according to the Associated Press news agency.

He was attacked in the car park of the building where he lived and was taken to a nearby hospital but died early Wednesday, the unnamed officials were quoted as saying.

But an unnamed source close to Hezbollah told Reuters news agency that Lakkis had been shot in the head with a silenced gun, and described the killing as a professional operation.

Israel denied any involvement in the death. ”These automatic accusations are an innate reflex with Hezbollah,” Israeli foreign ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor said. "They don’t need evidence, they don’t need facts. They just blame anything on Israel.”

Hezbollah - or the Party of God - is a powerful political and military organisation in Lebanon made up mainly of Shia Muslims.

Agencies