Editing Imad Mughniyeh (section)

==Assassination==
{{Main|Assassination of Imad Mughniyeh}}
[[File:Mughniyah assassination.png|thumb|right|The fire immediately after the car bomb went off]]
Imad Mughniyeh was killed on 12 February 2008 by a car bomb blast at around 23:00 in the [[Kafr Sousa]] neighborhood of [[Damascus]], [[Syria]].<ref name="reuters2"/><ref name="Telegraph2"/> According to ''[[The Sunday Times]]'', Mughniyeh was at a reception marking the 29th anniversary of the Iranian Revolution hosted by the Iranian ambassador to Syria, Ahmad Musavi.<ref name="SundayTimes">{{cite news|first=Uzi|last=Mahnaimi|author2=Jaber, Hala|author3=Swain, Jon|title=Israel kills terror chief with headrest bomb|url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/middle_east/article3382343.ece|newspaper=The Sunday Times|date=17 February 2008|access-date=6 February 2008|location=London|archive-date=29 September 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110929070445/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/middle_east/article3382343.ece|url-status=dead}}</ref> Mughniyeh left the party shortly after 22:30 and walked to his [[Mitsubishi Pajero]].<ref name=spiegel>{{cite news|title=How Israel Destroyed Syria's Al Kibar Nuclear Reactor|url=http://www.jmhinternational.com/news/news/selectednews/files/2009/11/20091103_SpiegelOnline_TheStoryOfOperationOrchard.pdf|access-date=15 January 2013|newspaper=Der Spiegel|date=11 February 2009|author=Erich Follath|author2=Holger Stark|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130531221204/http://www.jmhinternational.com/news/news/selectednews/files/2009/11/20091103_SpiegelOnline_TheStoryOfOperationOrchard.pdf|archive-date=31 May 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref> The spare tyre had been replaced by one with a [[Explosive#High explosives|high explosive]], which was detonated as Mughniyeh walked past.<ref name=WP013015>{{cite news |title=CIA and Mossad killed senior Hezbollah figure in car bombing |author=Adam Goldman |author2=Ellen Nakashima |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/cia-and-mossad-killed-senior-hezbollah-figure-in-car-bombing/2015/01/30/ebb88682-968a-11e4-8005-1924ede3e54a_story.html |newspaper=Washington Post |date=30 January 2015 |access-date=1 September 2017 |archive-date=10 February 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180210002525/https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/cia-and-mossad-killed-senior-hezbollah-figure-in-car-bombing/2015/01/30/ebb88682-968a-11e4-8005-1924ede3e54a_story.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The blast completely destroyed the car, left minimum damage on nearby buildings and killed only Mughniyeh.<ref name=spiegel/> A Syrian government investigation found that he was killed by a car bomb that was parked nearby and that was detonated remotely.<ref>{{Cite news|first=Yoav|last=Stern|title=50,000 Hezbollah men said deployed along border with Israel|url=http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/954644.html|newspaper=Haaretz|date=16 February 2008|access-date=16 February 2008|archive-date=18 February 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080218023650/http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/954644.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

Israel officially denied being behind the killing,<ref name="Telegraph2"/> but Mughniyeh reportedly had been a target of [[Mossad]] assassination attempts since the 1990s.<ref>{{cite news|title=Hezbollah deputy leader was behind string of terror attacks|url=http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/953927.html|newspaper=Haaretz|date=13 February 2008|access-date=13 February 2008|archive-date=15 February 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080215024549/http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/953927.html|url-status=live}}</ref> On 27 February 2008, ''[[The Jerusalem Post]]'' reported that ''[[Al-Quds Al-Arabi]]'' had written that anonymous "Syrian sources" had claimed that "several Arab nations conspired with Mossad" in the assassination of Mughniyeh.<ref>{{cite news|title='Arabs helped Mossad kill Mughniyeh'|url=http://www.jpost.com/Middle-East/Arabs-helped-Mossad-kill-Mughniyeh|newspaper=The Jerusalem Post|date=27 February 2008|access-date=27 February 2008|archive-date=8 February 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150208025050/http://www.jpost.com/Middle-East/Arabs-helped-Mossad-kill-Mughniyeh|url-status=live}}</ref>

The U.S. Director of National Intelligence [[John Michael McConnell|Mike McConnell]] has suggested that it was also possible that Syrian intelligence was responsible for the killing.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/954800.html|title=U.S. spy chief: Hezbollah may be behind Mughniyah killing|access-date=18 February 2008|archive-date=2 August 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070802091348/http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/954800.html|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Syrian Ba'athism|Ba'athist]] dissident and former [[Vice President of Syria|Vice President]] [[Abdul Halim Khaddam]] stated in 2008 that Syrian intelligence orchestrated the killing of Mughniyeh under orders from the [[Assad regime]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2008 |title=Khaddam accuses Assad regime of killing Hezbollah commander |url=https://www.lebanese-forces.com/2008/02/17/5290/ |website=Lebanese Forces}}</ref> According to Khaddam, Assad's removal of [[Assef Shawkat]] as Syria's [[Syrian intelligence|intelligence]] chief was due to Shawkat's investigation claiming that an explosion "had taken place inside the car" which went against official line toed by Assad, which was that the death was caused due to "the explosion of a gas tank". Without naming a source, the German newspaper ''[[Die Welt]]'' wrote that a story had been circulated amongst German diplomatic staff that it was possible that associates of late [[Assef Shawkat]] had assassinated Mughniyeh.<ref>{{cite news|title=Die Welt report: Assef Shawkat attempted a coup in Syria|url=http://yalibnan.com/site/archives/2008/06/die_welt_report.php|newspaper=Ya Libnan|date=8 June 2008|access-date=31 August 2008|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080712223053/http://yalibnan.com/site/archives/2008/06/die_welt_report.php|archive-date=12 July 2008|df=dmy-all}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Report: Syria foiled attempted coup by Assad's brother-in-law|url=http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/990938.html|newspaper=Haaretz|date=8 June 2008|access-date=31 August 2008|archive-date=8 July 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080708053409/http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/990938.html|url-status=live}}</ref> This would have been in revenge for Mughniyeh tipping off Syrian President Bashar al-Assad regarding a coup plotted against him, which the Syrian government had foiled a couple of days before his assassination. Releasing the story in advance of going to print, ''Die Welt'' said the Syrian embassy in Berlin had rejected the coup story as utterly untrue. Lebanese politicians [[Walid Jumblatt]] and [[Saad Hariri]] as well as Mughniyeh's Iranian widow also accused Syrian officials.<ref name="eid" /> His widow, after returning to Iran from Damascus, stated "This is why the Syrian regime has refused the help of Iran and Hizbollah in the investigation of the murder... The Syrian traitors assisted in my husband’s murder."<ref name="eid" /> However, later she denied her statements.<ref name="eid" /> According to a leaked US official report, top Syrian officials were stunned by the assassination of Mughniyeh and engaged in an internecine struggle to blame each other for the breach of security that resulted in Mughniyeh's death.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/dec/07/wikileaks-syria-hezbollah-assassination|title=WikiLeaks cables: Syria stunned by Hezbollah assassination|last=Black|first=Ian|date=2010-12-07|website=The Guardian|language=en|access-date=2018-02-15|archive-date=16 February 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180216143915/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/dec/07/wikileaks-syria-hezbollah-assassination|url-status=live}}</ref>

The Kuwaiti newspaper ''[[Al Rai (Kuwaiti newspaper)|Al Rai]]'' reported that Hezbollah intelligence sources said they would retaliate for Mughniyeh's death by assassinating Israeli leaders.<ref>{{cite news|title=Report: Hizballah threatens to assassinate Israeli leaders|url=http://www.israeltoday.co.il/default.aspx?tabid=178&nid=15253|newspaper=Israel Today|date=18 February 2008|access-date=18 February 2008|archive-date=6 April 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080406033609/http://www.israeltoday.co.il/default.aspx?tabid=178&nid=15253|url-status=dead}}</ref>

''Newsweek'' reported that in 2007 Mossad's director general, Meir Dagan, tipped the CIA off about the location of Mughniyeh in Kafr Sousa, Damascus.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Stein|first1=Jeff|title=How the CIA took down Hezbollah's top terrorist, Imad Mugniyah|url=http://www.newsweek.com/2015/02/13/imad-mugniyah-cia-mossad-303483.html|website=Newsweek|access-date=16 April 2018|language=en|date=31 January 2015|archive-date=16 April 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180416085959/http://www.newsweek.com/2015/02/13/imad-mugniyah-cia-mossad-303483.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The two Mossad agents had the roles of monitoring his movements and confirming Mughniyeh's identity using advanced facial recognition technology, while the CIA officer later detonated the bomb.<ref name=WP013015/><ref name=newsweek>{{cite web|url  = http://www.newsweek.com/2015/02/13/imad-mugniyah-cia-mossad-303483.html|title = How the CIA Took Down Hezbollah's Top Terrorist, Imad Mugniyah|last1 = Stein|first1  = Jeff|date = 31 January 2015|publisher= [[Newsweek]]|access-date = 31 January 2015|archive-date = 3 February 2015|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150203041055/http://www.newsweek.com/2015/02/13/imad-mugniyah-cia-mossad-303483.html|url-status = live}}</ref>

===Reactions===
[[File:Imad Mughniyeh memorial in Lebanon.jpg|thumb|right|Memorial shrine in Lebanon]]
Mughniyeh's body was taken to [[Beirut]] and buried in [[Rawdat al-Shahidain Cemetery]]. A funeral was organized by Hezbollah on 14 February.<ref name="zis17feb">{{cite journal|last=Zisser|first=Eyal|date=17 February 2008|title=Imad Mughniyeh: The Aftermath|url=http://www.tau.ac.il/dayancenter/Mughniyeh.pdf|url-status=dead|journal=Tel Aviv Notes|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150131135222/http://www.tau.ac.il/dayancenter/Mughniyeh.pdf|archive-date=31 January 2015|access-date=15 March 2013|df=dmy-all}}</ref> Senior Iranian officials attended the service; [[Ali Akbar Velayati]] representing the supreme leader, [[Ayatollah Ali Khamenei]], and Foreign Minister [[Manuchehr Mottaki]] representing President [[Mahmoud Ahmadinejad]].<ref name="akh12">{{cite news|url=http://english.al-akhbar.com/node/4198|title=Imad Mughniyeh in Iran: The Stuff of Legends|last=Chalhoub|first=Elie|date=14 February 2012|newspaper=Al Akhbar|access-date=4 August 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130929133648/http://english.al-akhbar.com/node/4198|archive-date=29 September 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref> At the funeral, Hassan Nasrallah appeared via video link and in the eulogy delivered for his fallen comrade, declared: "You crossed the borders. Zionists, if you want an open war, let it be an open war anywhere."<ref name=Peraino/><ref name=ADL>{{cite web|title=Hezbollah Threatens "Open War" on Israel|author=ADL|publisher=ADL|url=http://www.adl.org/main_Terrorism/hezbollah_overview.htm?Multi_page_sections=sHeading_2|date=31 March 2008|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081130111840/http://www.adl.org/main_Terrorism/hezbollah_overview.htm?Multi_page_sections=sHeading_2|archive-date=30 November 2008|df=dmy-all}}</ref> Lebanese senior cleric [[Mohammad Hussein Fadlallah]] said that "the resistance has lost one of its pillars."<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7242607.stm|work=BBC|title=Hezbollah's most secretive operative|date=13 February 2008|access-date=2 April 2010|first=Kathryn|last=Westcott|archive-date=18 February 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090218200926/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7242607.stm|url-status=live}}</ref> Iran condemned the killing as "yet another brazen example of organised state terrorism by the Zionist regime" (Israel).<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/7242383.stm|work=BBC|title=Bomb kills top Hezbollah leader|date=13 February 2008|access-date=2 April 2010|archive-date=13 September 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180913180750/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/7242383.stm|url-status=live}}</ref> A symbolic tomb was erected for Mughniyeh in the [[Behesht-e Zahra|Behesht-e-Zahra]] cemetery of [[Tehran]].<ref name="akh12" /> Later the Iranian government named a street in Tehran after Imad Mughniyeh as well.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Riazi|first=Toloo|date=2019|title=The Politics of Naming Public Spaces in Tehran|journal=Culture, Health & Sexuality|volume=21|issue=10|pages=1146–61; see p. 1154|doi=10.1080/13691058.2018.1543801|pmid=30668273|s2cid=58947949}}</ref>

The assassination of Mughniyeh was condemned in some parts of the world. Then Italian Foreign Minister [[Massimo D'Alema]] termed the assassination "terror" in an interview,<ref name=meron>{{cite news|last=Rapoport|first=Meron|title=Italian FM says Mughniyeh killing in Damascus was act of 'terror'|url=http://www.haaretz.com/news/italian-fm-says-mughniyah-killing-in-damascus-was-act-of-terror-1.239907|access-date=12 January 2013|newspaper=Haaretz|date=22 February 2008|archive-date=23 October 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121023233713/http://www.haaretz.com/news/italian-fm-says-mughniyah-killing-in-damascus-was-act-of-terror-1.239907|url-status=live}}</ref> while Gideon Levy of the Israeli newspaper ''[[Haaretz]]'' claimed the assassination actually undermined Israel's security.<ref>{{cite web|last=Levy|first=Gideon|url=http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/954787.html|title=Liquidation sale|publisher=Haaretz|date=17 February 2008|access-date=22 July 2012|archive-date=9 February 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090209000816/http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/954787.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

The [[Presidency of George W. Bush|Bush administration]] welcomed news of Mugniyeh's death. A spokesman of the U.S. State Department said: "The world is a better place without this man in it. He was a coldblooded killer, a mass murderer and a terrorist responsible for countless innocent lives lost. One way or another he was brought to justice."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2008/feb/13/israelandthepalestinians.usa|work=The Guardian|location=London|title=Car bomb kills Hizbullah chief in Syria|first=James|last=Sturcke|date=13 February 2008|access-date=2 April 2010|archive-date=1 September 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130901180916/http://www.theguardian.com/world/2008/feb/13/israelandthepalestinians.usa|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Danny Yatom]], former head of the Israeli Mossad said: "He was one of the most dangerous terrorists ever on Earth."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/13/AR2008021300494.html|newspaper=The Washington Post|title=Bombing Kills Top Figure in Hezbollah|first1=Anthony|last1=Shadid|first2=Alia|last2=Ibrahim|date=14 February 2008|access-date=2 April 2010|archive-date=4 November 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121104112039/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/13/AR2008021300494.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

After Mughniyeh's killing, Hezbollah's elite Intervention Unit was renamed the [[Redwan Force]] after his operational alias Hajj Radwan (الحاج رضوان) in April 2008.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Ward |first1=Euan |title=Here’s What to Know About Hezbollah’s Radwan Force |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/08/world/middleeast/radwan-hezbollah-israel.html |access-date=18 September 2024 |work=[[New York Times]] |date=2024-01-08 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20240109030559/https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/08/world/middleeast/radwan-hezbollah-israel.html |archive-date=2024-01-09}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Beeri |first1=Tal |title=The Radwan Unit ("Radwan Force" - Unit 125) |url=https://israel-alma.org/2023/01/05/the-radwan-unit-radwan-force-unit-125/ |website=Alma Research and Education Center |access-date=4 November 2023 |date=5 January 2023}}</ref><ref name="Ynetnews9Jun23">{{cite news |last1=Halabi |first1=Einav |title=Hezbollah's commando force emboldens Nasrallah to take on Israel |url=https://www.ynetnews.com/magazine/article/skmb7tk8h |website=Ynetnews |access-date=4 November 2023 |language=en |date=9 June 2023}}</ref>

On the 10th anniversary of Mugniyeh's killing, Iranian Major General [[Qasem Soleimani]], commander of the [[Quds Force]] of [[Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps]], described Mugniyeh as "the legend of our time," grief caused by whose loss was only second to that of [[Ruhollah Khomeini#Death and funeral|Ruhollah Khomeini]], the leader of the [[Iranian Revolution|1979 Iranian Revolution]].  Soleimani said that what made Mugniyeh unique was not his expertise in guerrilla warfare but "his attachment to something superterrestrial."<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|url=http://www.farsnews.com/newstext.php?nn=13961126000252|title=خبرگزاری فارس – امروز غزه و لبنان نقاط تولید اضطراب دائم برای اسرائیل است/ قصاص خون عماد مغنیه نابودی رژیم‌صهیونیستی است|date=2018-02-15|work=خبرگزاری فارس|access-date=15 February 2018|language=fa-IR|trans-title=Today Gaza and Lebanon are permanent stress-generating spots for Israel The avenge for Imad Mugniyah's blood is destruction of the Zionist regime|archive-date=26 April 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180426101212/http://www.farsnews.com/newstext.php?nn=13961126000252|url-status=dead}}</ref> Soleimani stressed that "the enemy must recognize that avenging Mughniyah's death won't be fulfilled by launching a missile or killing someone in response, but bloods like these will be only avenged by full destruction of the Zionist regime" which he said was "a definite Divine promise."<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|url=http://www.farsnews.com/newstext.php?nn=13961126000252|title=خبرگزاری فارس – امروز غزه و لبنان نقاط تولید اضطراب دائم برای اسرائیل است/ قصاص خون عماد مغنیه نابودی رژیم‌صهیونیستی است|date=2018-02-15|work=خبرگزاری فارس|access-date=15 February 2018|language=fa-IR|trans-title=Today Gaza and Lebanon are permanent stress-generating spots for Israel The avenge for Imad Mugniyah's blood is destruction of the Zionist regime|archive-date=26 April 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180426101212/http://www.farsnews.com/newstext.php?nn=13961126000252|url-status=dead}}</ref> (Less than two years later, Soleimani himself was assassinated in [[Assassination of Qasem Soleimani|a targeted U.S. drone strike]] in January 2020 in [[Baghdad]].<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.cnn.com/2020/01/02/middleeast/baghdad-airport-rockets/index.html |title=US drone strike ordered by Trump kills top Iranian commander in Baghdad |last1=Cohen |first1=Zachary |date=3 January 2020 |access-date=3 January 2020 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200103031258/https://www.cnn.com/2020/01/02/middleeast/baghdad-airport-rockets/index.html |archive-date=3 January 2020 |publisher=[[CNN]] |last2=Alkhshali |first2=Hamdi |last3=Khadder |first3=Kareem |last4=Dewan |first4=Angela}}</ref>)