Word: hizballah
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...hijacking that led to the death of a U.S. Navy diver; attacks that killed 200 Americans in Lebanon in the 1980s; the 1992 bombing of Israel's embassy in Argentina--put him on the FBI's most-wanted list. After a car bombing in Damascus, officials announced that Hizballah's Imad Mughniyah had been killed. The incident, for which Hizballah blamed Israel (who denied involvement), was a hefty blow to the militant group--it was the first killing of a top leader since 1992. Mughniyah was believed...
...July 2003 interview, Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, the current Hizballah leader, told me that the U.S. accusations against Mughniyah were "just accusations." "Can they provide evidence to condemn Mughniyah?" he asked. But he added "Hajj Imad is among the best freedom fighters in the Lebanese arena. He had a very important role during the occupation [of southern Lebanon by Israel]. But as for his relationship with Hizballah, we maintain the tradition of not discussing names...
Indeed, such was Mughniyah's mythical status that sometimes it was not always certain if he really existed at all. "I sometimes would ask myself if Mughniyah was a real person or a figment of imagination," said Magnus Ranstorp, a Hizballah specialist at the Swedish National Defense College in Stockholm who has traced Mughniyah's activities for years. "But the intelligence agencies I was in contact with were under no illusions. He was the real deal...
Still, despite the scenes of mourning in Lebanese Shi'ite circles that has greeted Mughniyah's death, his high profile earned the irritation of some grassroots Hizballah fighters busy battling Israeli occupation troops in south Lebanon in the 1990s. "They talk about Imad Mughniyah, but what did he do?" a Hizballah fighter once grumbled to me. "They suspect him of kidnapping American journalists, blowing up the French paratroops and the U.S. embassy. But things we did in the south [fighting Israeli troops] were militarily worth a hundred times more than what they claim Mughniyah did. Kidnapping is the easiest thing...
...Hizballah has blamed Israel, and the organization's expected retaliation will likely aim in that direction. But could the $5 million price tag for Mughniyah's head have proved too tempting for a member of the Syrian regime? Or was it a favor by Damascus to the U.S. in exchange for an easing of international pressure...