Israel has said that it killed the commander of Hezbollah’s elite unit in a strike that Lebanese officials said left 14 dead and dozens wounded in the movement’s Beirut stronghold.

According to AFP, Ibrahim Aqil, who was wanted by the United States for involvement in the 1983 bombing of the US embassy in Beirut, headed the group’s elite Radwan Force.

Hezbollah confirmed late on Friday that Aqil had been killed by Israeli fire, hailing him as “one of its great leaders”.

AFP journalists at the scene said the blast left a massive crater and gutted the lower floors of a high-rise building in the Lebanese capital’s southern suburbs. Rescue workers were still using heavy equipment to search the rubble hours after the strike, AFPTV footage showed.

The United States had offered a $7 million reward for information on Aqil, describing him as a “principal member” of an organisation that claimed the embassy bombing, which killed 63 people.