FROM WND'S JERUSALEM BUREAU


Israel's No. 1 most wanted terrorist assassinated
Hezbollah leader also behind 1983 Beirut bombings killing Americans

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Posted: February 13, 2008
11:51 am Eastern


By Aaron Klein
© 2008 WorldNetDaily

Imad Mughniyah

JAFFA, Israel – The deputy commander of the Hezbollah terrorist organization, responsible for infamous deadly attacks against the U.S. and Israel, including involvement in the 1983 bombing of a U.S. Marine barracks in Lebanon, was killed in a car bomb blast in Syria today.

Imad Mughniyah was Israel's No. 1 most-wanted terrorist, even ahead of Hezbollah chieftain Hassan Nasrallah. Mughniyah was considered one of the most dangerous terrorists in the world by Western intelligence agencies. He led Hezbollah's "international terror branch," directly orchestrating attacks against foreign targets, according to Israeli security officials. He was widely considered Nasrallah's successor.

Mughniyah was accused of helping to plan the 1983 Marine barracks attack in which 300 were killed and also the bombing of the U.S. Embassy in Beirut that same year, killing 63 people.

He was responsible for the 1985 hijacking of a TWA passenger jet and the murder of one of its passengers, a soldier in the U.S. navy. Mughniyah was indicted for the 1994 bombing of a Jewish community center in Buenos Aires killing 85 people. A warrant was issued for his arrest for the 1992 bombing of the Israeli Embassy also in Buenos Aires in which 29 people died. Argentinean officials have publicly pointed a finger at Iran for aiding in those attacks.


Also serving as commander of Islamic Jihad in the 1980's, Mughniyah is accused of kidnapped dozens of Western hostages, including Americans, killing some of them, such as the CIA's Middle East station chief.

According to foreign press reports, the Mossad reportedly tried to assassinate Mughniyah in a complex operation in southern Beirut in the 1990s.

Mughniyah reportedly lived a secretive life, routinely switching between locations in Syria, Lebanon and Iran. He is thought to have undergone multiple plastic surgeries and changed identities numerous times.

Hezbollah today squarely blamed Israel for the car bomb explosion while Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's office denied involvement in Mughniyah's assassination.

"With all pride we declare a great jihadist leader of the Islamic resistance in Lebanon joining the martyrs. ... The brother commander hajj Imad Mughniyah became a martyr at the hands of the Zionist Israelis," said a statement carried on Hezbollah's television station.

Former intelligence officials here praised today's assassination.

Danny Yatom, a former Mossad chief and current Knesset member, said Mughniyah's death was "a great achievement for the free world in its fight on terror. Mughniyah was one of the most dangerous and cruel terrorists of all time.

Yotan pointed out there were numerous intelligence agencies pursuing Mughniyah "and the one that was successful in reaching him [has proved itself] to have a high intelligence and operational capability."

He said today's assassination proved the capabilities of the West in targeting Hezbollah anywhere, including deep inside Syrian territory.

Speaking with Israel's Haaretz news agency, Environment Minister Gideon Ezra, formerly a senior intelligence officer, stated, "I, of course, do not know who carried out the assassination of Imad, but he should be blessed."




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