A senior Syrian official has been shot dead in the southern Lebanese town of Sarafand

Mohammed Darrar Jamo, a high-profile advocate for the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, was shot early on Wednesday morning as he entered his house, the BBC reported.

Gunmen reportedly opened fire on him but left his wife, who was with him at the time, unharmed, according to Lebanese officials.

The attack is the latest sign of how the conflict in Syria is ignite simmering sectarian tensions in Lebanon.

The Syrian state news agency, Sana, said Mohammed Darrar Jamo was head of the political and international relations division of the International Organization for Arab Immigrants.

He had also frequently appeared as a political expert on Arabic-language television channels, defending President Assad.

Clashes between groups backing different sides in Syria’s civil war have become increasingly common in Lebanon.

Last week a car-bomb ripped through a Hizbullah stronghold in a suburb of the Lebanese capital Beirut, wounding dozens of people.