Hezbollah commander with $7 million bounty killed in Israeli strikes.
Beirut: Veteran Hezbollah operative Ibrahim Aqil was confirmed dead after Israeli airstrikes targeted the militant group’s positions in Beirut suburbs.
Two Lebanese security sources said the operations chief of the Iran-backed group’s elite Radwan brigade was killed in strikes amid escalating tensions over the Gaza conflict.
Aqil, nicknamed Tahsin and Abdelqader, was a founding member who joined post-Amal and helped transform Hezbollah into a formidable force defeating Israel and battling it in the 2006 war.
Accused by the US of directing the 1983 Beirut truck bombings killing over 300 including at marine barracks, he had a $7 million bounty for a designated ‘terrorist’ tag over the attacks.
Israel upped attacks eliminating the second commander in two months after the July killing of Fuad Shukr. Both hailed from early cadre instrumental in ousting the Israeli occupation of south Lebanon.
While Hezbollah denies direct links to 1980s bombings, Aqil’s demise deals a hefty blow to command similar to Imad Mughniyeh’s 2008 assassination as Israel targets leadership in retaliation.
With a higher bounty than Shukr, the seasoned operator’s death deepens a power tussle marring the conflict-ridden region.
