A high-profile member of the Lebanese Shia movement Hezbollah, who had spent years in Israeli prisons, has been killed in Syria in a suspected Israeli air strike, according to Hezbollah.

Samir Kantar was killed along with eight others in a strike on a building in the Jaramana area of the capital Damascus on Sunday morning, al-Manar TV, the official channel of Hezbollah, reported.

Syrian regime state television, quoting official sources, said Kantar was killed in a "terror attack", without elaborating on who was behind the assault.

Kantar's brother, Bassam, confirmed the death on social media.

At least one Hezbollah commander was among those killed in the air strike, al-Manar reported.

Kantar is from the Druze sect and was believed to be recruiting Syrian Druze to a paramilitary group, the National Defense Forces in Syria's south, that supports Bashar al-Assad.

PHOTO CAPTION

Bassam Kantar (L), brother of Hezbollah militant Samir Kantar, receives condolences on Samir's death in a reported Israeli air raid from Druze political leader Talal Arslan (2nd-R) near the Lebanese capital Beirut on December 20, 2015

Al-Jazeera