CBNNews.com - HOMS, Syria - Exiled Hamas chief Khaled Mashaal's deputy, Hisham al-Labadan, was murdered last week in Syria, according to a report by the Reform Party of Syria, a group that opposes President Bashar Assad's regime.

The report stated that al-Labadan was dragged from his car in broad daylight and shot dead.

News of the assassination was kept quiet in an effort to diffuse tension between the Syrian government and the opposition group.

The incident came days after an article in the Qatari paper al-Arab carried a warning by Syrian officials that Israel planned to assassinate Palestinian leaders living in Damascus.

Neither Hamas nor Syrian officials have commented on the incident.