BEIRUT: Lebanon's Hezbollah militant group on Tuesday said it chose Naim Kassem to replace its slain leader Hassan Nasrallah, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike last month.

Kassem, a longtime deputy to Nasrallah, has served as the militant group's acting leader since Nasrallah's death.

The group said in a statement that Hezbollah's decision-making Shura Council elected Kassem, who had been Nasrallah's deputy leader for over three decades, as the new secretary-general.

Hezbollah vowed to continue with Nasrallah's policies “until victory is achieved”.