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Imad Mughniyeh | |
|---|---|
| عماد مغنية | |
 Mughniyeh in the 2000s | |
| Hezbollah Chief of Staff | |
| Preceded by | Unknown |
| Succeeded by | Mustafa Badreddine |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 7 December 1962 Tayr Dibba, Lebanon |
| Died | 12 February 2008 (aged 45) Kafr Sousa, Damascus, Syria |
| Political party |  Hezbollah |
| Children | 7, including Jihad, and Mustafa |
| Occupation | Assassin, revolutionarist, militant jihadist |
| Part of a series on |
| Hezbollah |
|---|
Imad Fayez Mughniyeh (Arabic: عماد فايز مغنية; 7 December 1962 – 12 February 2008),[1] also known by his nom de guerre al-Hajj Radwan (الحاج رضوان), was a Lebanese militant leader who was the founding member of Lebanon's Islamic Jihad Organization and number two in Hezbollah's leadership. He is believed to have been Hezbollah's chief of staff and overseer of its military, intelligence, and security apparatus. He has been described as a skilled military tactician and a highly elusive figure. He was often referred to as an ‘untraceable ghost’.[2]
U.S. and Israeli officials say Mughniyeh was directly and personally involved in terrorist attacks and the mastermind of many suicide bombings, murders, kidnappings, and assassinations. Mughniyeh formed Unit 121 as Hezbollah's covert assassination squad and he was behind the 1983 Beirut barracks bombing and 1983 United States embassy bombing, in which over 350 people were killed, as well as the kidnapping of dozens of foreigners in Lebanon in the 1980s.[3] He was indicted in Argentina for his role in the 1992 Israeli embassy attack in Buenos Aires. The highest-profile attacks he was involved in occurred in the early 1980s when Mughniyeh was in his early twenties. U.S. intelligence officials accused him of killing more United States citizens than any other man prior to the 11 September attacks.[4]
Mughniyeh was known by his nom de guerre Al-Hajj Radwan. He was included in the European Union's list of wanted terrorists[5][6][7] and had a US$5 million bounty on the FBI Most Wanted Terrorists list.[8] To many in his home country, Lebanon and the Middle East, he is a national symbol and hero.[9]
As part of a joint CIA–Mossad operation,[10][11] Mughniyeh was assassinated on the night of 12 February 2008 by a car bomb that was detonated as he passed by on foot,[12] in the Kafr Sousa neighbourhood of Damascus, Syria.[13][14][15]
- ^ "Anti-Terrorism Designation; Anti-Terrorism Designation Removal". m.treasury.gov. Archived from the original on 17 May 2018.
- ^ "Who Was Imad Mughniyeh?". www.washingtoninstitute.org. Archived from the original on 16 February 2018. Retrieved 15 February 2018.
- ^ McPherson, Alan (21 September 2019), "Homicide Squad", Ghosts of Sheridan Circle, University of North Carolina Press, pp. 87–102, ISBN 978-1-4696-5350-1, retrieved 20 February 2025
- ^ "The Arab American News – Mughnieh murder could trigger retaliation". arabamericannews.com. 10 January 2009. Archived from the original on 6 March 2008. Retrieved 22 March 2008.
- ^ European Union, Council Common Position 2001/931/CFSP of 27 December 2001 on the application of specific measures to combat terrorism Freezing funds: list of terrorists and terrorist groups Archived 28 August 2006 at the Wayback Machine Accessed 17 August 2006
- ^ Council Common Position 2005/427/CFSP of 6 June 2005 Official Journal L 144, 08/06/2005 P. 0054 – 0058 Archived 14 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine Accessed 17 August 2006
- ^ COUNCIL COMMON POSITION 2005/847/CFSP of 29 November 2005 Official Journal of the European Union Archived 15 August 2009 at the Wayback Machine Accessed 17 August 2006
- ^ "Reputed terrorist long sought by CIA killed in explosion". CNN. Beirut. 14 February 2008. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 12 January 2013.
- ^ Fromm, Charles. "Killing Imad Mughniyeh made him a legend". www.aljazeera.com. Archived from the original on 16 February 2018. Retrieved 15 February 2018.
- ^ Goldman, Adam; Nakashima, Ellen (30 January 2015). "CIA and Mossad killed senior Hezbollah figure in car bombing". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Archived from the original on 10 February 2018. Retrieved 16 February 2018.
- ^ "Why the CIA Killed Imad Mughniyeh". POLITICO Magazine. Archived from the original on 3 December 2022. Retrieved 15 February 2018.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
WP013015was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "Hezbollah's most wanted commander killed in Syria bomb". Reuters. 13 February 2008. Archived from the original on 18 February 2008. Retrieved 13 February 2008.
- ^ Powell, Robyn; Chivers, Tom (13 February 2008). "Israel denies assassinating Hezbollah chief". Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 15 February 2008.
- ^ [1] Archived 22 December 2012 at the Wayback Machine, "Will Hezbullah avenge the hit on its terror chief?" by Yaakov Katz, 11 February 2011