One of the planners of the 1983 bombings in Beirut that killed 241 Marines and another 63 people at the U.S. embassy in Lebanon has been killed by an explosion. Imad Mughniyeh, a Hezbollah leader who was listed on the FBI's Most Wanted list, also took part in the 1985 TWA hijacking that resulted in the death of Navy diver Robert Stethem. Excerpt:
A senior Hezbollah commander implicated in some of the most high-profile international terrorist attacks of the last 25 years has died in an explosion in Syria, Hezbollah TV said Wednesday.
Imad Mughniyeh was suspected by Western intelligence agencies in the 1983 bombing of the U.S. Embassy in Beirut, which killed 63 people, as well as the truck bombing that year of the U.S. Marine barracks there, an attack that killed 241 people and preceded the U.S. military withdrawal from Lebanon, according to a CNN report from 2001.
The FBI listed Mughniyeh as one of its "Most Wanted Terrorists," blaming him for his role in the June 14, 1985, hijacking of TWA 847, a terrorist episode that captivated television viewers in the United States and around the world for more than two weeks.
Hijackers seized the plane as it traveled from Athens, Greece, to Rome, Italy, and forced it to land at the airport in Beirut, starting a 17-day ordeal during which a U.S. Navy diver, Robert Dean Stethem, was shot and killed.
Hezbollah has blamed Israel for the bombing, which they deny. They would have good reason to go after him since he was behind the attacks on Israel's Argentina embassy and a Jewish center in Buenos Aries that killed 100 people. He was also implicated in Hezbollah's kidnapping of two Israeli soldiers in 2006, leading to Israel's incursion into Lebanon. However, car bombings aren't exactly how Israel handles things. There's a possibility Syria's military might be behind it, but I don't believe Damascus would risk alienating Hezbollah. Nor would they want to anger Iran, where Hezbollah originates and backs their terrorist activities. Though, it's hard to say. Mughniyeh had enough enemies that anyone could've supported the attack. Andrew Exum has further thoughts. Philip Jacobson says Mossad was behind it. More here. Also note this:
"Bin Laden is a schoolboy in comparison with Mughniyeh," says an Israeli who knows Mughniyeh . "The guy is a genius, someone who refined the art of terrorism to its utmost level. We studied him and reached the conclusion that he is a clinical psychopath motivated by uncontrollable psychological reasons, which we have given up trying to understand. The killing of his two brothers by the Americans only inflamed his strong motivation."
Those that live through terrorism can expect their enemies to strike back. Good riddance, and lets hope the rest of Hezbollah goes the same way.
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