(CNN) Hezbollah is accusing Islamist extremists of killing its military commander in an explosion in Syria.

The Lebanon-based Hezbollah announced the death of Mustafa Badriddine on Thursday. It said he died in a blast that hit one of its centers near the Damascus International Airport.

The blast "was a result of artillery bombardment" by Islamist extremist groups in the region, Hezbollah said in a statement Saturday. It did not provide specifics on the groups involved.

"The outcome of the investigations will increase our determination and will to continue the fight against these criminal gangs and defeat them," it said.

Months before his death, Badriddine said he wouldn't "come back from Syria unless as a martyr or a carrier of the banner of victory," according to Hezbollah.

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