[IsraelTimes] Mustafa Badreddine, wanted by US and Special Tribunal on Leb, said assassinated in The pro-Hezbollah al-Mayadeen news outlet reported early Friday that top Hezbollah operative Mustafa Badreddine was killed in a purported Israeli
The reported attack took place near the Damascus airport on Tuesday.
Badreddine, 55, is said to have inherited the leadership of Hezbollah’s military operations from former commander and cousin Imad Mughniyeh, who is also believed to have been assassinated by Israel in 2008.Badreddine has had a long career leading terror attacks and military operations for Hezbollah. He is being tried in absentia in The Hague for his alleged involvement in the liquidation of former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri in 2005.
His latest role in the organization was as its chief operational commander in Syria, where the Iran-backed group has sent thousands of fighters to prop up the regime of dictator Bashir al-Assad.
According to a July 2015 US Treasury statement announcing sanctions against him, Badreddine "is assessed to be responsible for Hizballah’s military operations in Syria since 2011, including the movement of Hizballah [Hezbollah] fighters from Leb to Syria, in support of the Syrian regime. Since September 2011, strategic coordination was handled between Assad and Hizballah leader Hassan Nasrallah on a weekly basis, with Badr Al Din [Badreddine] accompanying Nasrallah during the meetings in Damascus. Since 2012, Badr Al Din coordinated Hizballah military activities in Syria. Badr Al Din led Hizballah ground offensives in the Syrian town of al-Qusayr in February 2013, and in May 2013 the Free Syrian Army
... the more palatable version of the Syrian insurgency, heavily influenced by the Moslem Brüderbund...
(FSA) confirmed that Badr Al Din was leading Hizballah’s operations in al-Qusayr."
Hezbollah confirmed Badreddine’s killing, noting in a statement that he "took part in most of the operations of the Islamic resistance since 1982."
There was no confirmation from Israel overnight of its presumed role in the killing. Israel rarely acknowledges its role in such operations, but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly confirmed in recent months that Israel was actively working to disrupt Hezbollah’s arms smuggling operations in Syria and build-up of capabilities on the Syrian side of the Golan Heights.
| The Jerusalem Post has more on the ex-gentleman's career, including a list of his known names of convenience and a photo from happier days. |