Tne newwspaper Al-Akhbar has led a journalistic investigation into the 2008 assassination of top Hezbollah commander Imad Mughniyeh. The report, which ends with the somber tears of his mother, has turned up new details regarding the operation in Damascus that left the senior commander of the Shiite group dead.
After the Second Lebanon War, Mughniyeh was charged with rehabilitating Hezbollah's fighting capabilities and weaponry. "Damascus was the main station for the task, which meant that (he) had to intensify his travel to and from Syria," the online newspaper claimed.
"At the time, Mughniyeh, much like many operatives… treated Syria as one of the safest places. There was a presumption that Israel would not target Syria through direct operations," the paper explained, claiming there was an "implicit laxity" which de-facto created the possibility for his imminent assassination.
(Photo: Reuters) Unlike previous reports which claimed Mughniyeh had visited his lover before the assassination, Al-Akhbar has argued that "On the evening of 12 February 2008, Mughniyeh had just finished a meeting with some of the most senior Palestinian leaders" in the Kfar Sousa neighborhood of Syria's capital Damascus. According to the report "They had discussed ways to develop the capacities of the Palestinian resistance inside Palestine, and Gaza in particular." At the culmination of the meeting, at 10:15 pm, he left the building and proceeded to his car, which was parked in a rectangular parking lot, which serviced the adjacent buildings. "The explosion was heard around 10:20 pm. Some people rushed to the location, including those Mughniyeh had just met. It turned out that when Mughniyeh had stepped out of the building's main gate, a 2006 silver Mitsubishi Pajero 4x4 parked nine meters away exploded, killing him alone, on the spot." "Hajj Fayez felt a sense of serenity, because Imad had departed in a manner befitting him, as a martyr in a struggle to which he had devoted his life. " According to the paper, two simultaneous investigations were launched in the wake of the assassination -one by Hezbollah and the other by the Lebanese authorities. The Al-Akhbar report is predominantly based on the results of the Hezbollah investigation and, according to the paper, "Hezbollah was absolutely certain that Israel was behind the crime." According to the paper, "Extensive (Hezbollah) investigations revealed the role of Israel and its direct responsibility for the assassination. They showed that the Mossad, which was under the leadership of Meir Dagan at the time, was responsible for the operation from A to Z." However, despite "the enemy's" preparation, at the center of the action is in fact a Syrian National. "The Mossad recruited a Syrian expat who visited his country often, and asked him to move to Damascus to provide logistics for the operation. "The (Syrian) agent was provided with a villa to hide the vehicle and affix it with explosives, in addition to accommodations for the group that carried out the operation," the report said, adding that he was also charged with putting up an iron fence to block the entrance from the parking lot. Samir Kuntar paying his respects (Photo: AP) Contradicting other reports claiming the explosives were placed in the driver's seat's head rest, Al-Akhbar claims "The Pajero, now parked in the villa, was equipped with explosives in its trunk door. "It was later discovered that, in addition to the explosives, the bomb contained metal pellets that can cause extensive damage to the target instantaneously. The device was similar to several bombs used by Israel to assassinate resistance leaders in Lebanon and abroad." Regarding the identity of the hit-squad, the paper wrote: "The investigators and people close to the file are very secretive about the implementation team. But there are indicators that show that they were not Syrian citizens and that they had traveled in and out of the country to implement the operation." "In the early afternoon of 12 February 2008, one of the implementers drove the Pajero, equipped with explosives in its trunk door, and parked it outside the building frequented by Mughniyeh. "At dusk, the team of four individuals took the getaway Lancer and went upstairs to observe the parking lot, the target, and the vehicle with the explosives. They chose an apartment on the sixth floor. One of them surveyed the area with binoculars, another was charged with detonating the explosives, and the third was for protection. The fourth waited in the getaway car parked at the back of the building close to the fence." Afterwards, at 10:20 pm, "Mughniyeh exited the building and, as soon as he reached the well-lit lot nine meters away from the Pajero, the bomb was detonated and he was killed instantly. The implementing team left the building and headed toward their getaway car." In a separate report, the paper described the personal angle of his assassination. "On Sunday 10 February 2008, Imad Mughniyeh went to his parents’ home. He was there for the family’s regular weekly reunion over lunch cooked by his mother Umm Imad and his wife Umm Mustafa."
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Mughniyeh, family man