Imad Mughniyeh killed

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This individual was responsible for the hijacking of TWA Flight 847 and murder of Robert Dean Stethem SW-2 (Diver), United States Navy. He's also linkrd to the Marine Barracks, Embassy and CIA station bombings in Beirut.

Feb 13, 2008 11:05 | Updated Feb 13, 2008 11:24
'Most wanted' Hizbullah official killed in Damascus bombing

Hizbullah's second in command in Syria, Imad Mughniyeh, was killed in a car bombing in Damascus late Tuesday night, Hizbullah's Al-Manar television reported Wednesday.

Mughniyeh was reportedly very close to Hizbullah head Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah. He was responsible for the organization's military wing and served as Hizbullah's liason with Iran.

He was held responsible by Israel for numerous terror attacks, as well as for masterminding a bombing in Buenos Aires in 1994. He is also believed to be responsible for hijacking a TWA flight in 1985.

He has also targeted US citizens - the United States holds him responsible for the attack on the US embassy in Beirut and on a marine base there. He has been on the FBI's top-20 wanted list for years.

Hizbullah has blamed Israel for Mughniyeh'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 Mughinyeh became a martyr at the hands of the Zionist Israelis," said a statement carried on Al-Manar.

The explosion, which occurred about 10:45 p.m. in the Syrian capital's upscale Kafar Soussa neighborhood. Security forces quickly sealed off the area and removed the destroyed car, which had its driver's seat and the rear seat blown away by the force of the blast.

Calls for comment from Syria's Interior Ministry, which is responsible for security forces, went unanswered late Tuesday night.

There are no government buildings located in the mostly residential neighborhood. An Iranian school is about a few hundred meters from the blast, but the school was unscathed.

Damascus has seen a number of attacks in recent years, blamed on Islamic terrorists. Those includes an attack against the US Embassy in 2006 that left three gunmen and a Syrian guard dead. One bombing also targeted the vehicle of a Palestinian terror official, who escaped assassination in 2004.