CNN International has fired one of its senior editors after she published a Twitter message lamenting the death of a Lebanese Shi'ite cleric.

The above tweet by Octavia Nasr referred to the Grand Ayatollah Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah, an early mentor of the militant group Hezbollah who died in Beirut on Sunday.

Nasr, a 20-year CNN veteran based in Atlanta, departed from the channel after "a conversation" with Parisa Khosravi, a CNN senior vice president.

The channel was reported by the New York Times to have been alerted to the tweet by some supporters of Israel.

Fadlallah was also the spiritual leader of Hezbollah when it was formed after Israel invaded Lebanon in 1982, though he later distanced himself from its ties with Iran.

A CNN spokesman said: "CNN regrets any offence her Twitter message caused. It did not meet CNN's editorial standards."

Nasr is quoted in a BBC report as calling her tweet "an error of judgment". She said she had been referring to Fadlallah's "pioneering" views on women's rights.

She said in a blog posting: "Reaction to my tweet was immediate, overwhelming and provides a good lesson on why 140 characters should not be used to comment on controversial or sensitive issues, especially those dealing with the Middle East."

Sources: New York Times/BBC/IFEX