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Imad Mughniyeh was one of the founders and main leaders of Hezbollah in the 1980s, which was a Lebanese militant group led by Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah. Described as "a brilliant military tactician and very elusive", Mughniyeh was also the founder of the Islamic Jihad Organization of Lebanon, infamously known as "Islamic Jihad".
Imad Mughniyeh's name has again come to the surface after Showtime released the official trailer for its brand new four-part thriller series titled, Ghosts of Beirut.
The series is scheduled to air this Sunday, May 21, 2023, exclusively on the Showtime TV Network. As per the official description for Ghosts of Beirut given by Showtime:
"Four-part limited series based on one of the most extraordinary real-life espionage stories of our time: the manhunt for Imad Mughniyeh, the elusive terrorist mastermind who outwitted his adversaries for over two decades. Based on a true story, Mugniyeh took terrorism to deadly new levels, creating public martyrs out of anonymous suicide bombers. As CIA and Mossad operatives were haunted by Imad’s actions, they unexpectedly join forces in a high-stakes international chase to finally find and take down the man known as “the ghost.”"
Ever since the news of the series was released by Showtime, it has received a lot of attention from viewers.
From his connection to the US embassy bombings to the Israeli embassy attack in Buenos Aires, learn 5 significant facts about Imad Mughniyeh
1) Imad Mughniyeh was in his early twenties when he founded Hezbollah
Reportedly, Imad Mughniyeh was Hezbollah's chief of staff and held the second leadership position in Hezbollah, which is a political party and also a militant group of Lebanese Shia Islamists. It was founded during the beginning of the 1982 Lebanon War.
It was led by Hassan Nasrallah, the organization's Secretary-General. Mughniyeh, who was in his early twenties at the time, was also one of the founders of Hezbollah.
The paramilitary wing of Hezbollah is the Jihad Council, while the political wing of the organization is the Loyalty to the Lebanese Parliament's Resistance Bloc party. Mughniyeh oversaw the organization's military, security and intelligence apparatuses.
He was often called an ‘untraceable ghost’ due to his expertise in staying out of sight of the authorities.
2) Mughniyeh's series of terrorist attacks began with the Beirut barracks bombing
Imad Mughniyeh had always been accused by Israeli and United States officials of being closely connected to a number of sinister terrorist attacks, which include an array of kidnappings, suicide bombings and murders.
Mughniyeh's involvement in such activities started with the US embassy bombings and the Beirut barracks bombing.
The two massive bombings happened in the same year in 1983. The explosions ended the lives of more than 350 people. Both the Beirut barracks and US embassy bombings are considered two of the biggest tragedies in the history of terrorist attacks.
3) He was the mastermind behind the Israeli embassy attack in Buenos Aires
In Argentina, Mughniyeh was also charged for his direct involvement in the Israeli embassy attack in 1992 in Buenos Aires. All the big attacks for which he was considered responsible, had taken place in the early 1980s, after the establishment of Hezbollah, when the was in his 20s.
The intelligence officials of the United States had also charged him with accusations of killing many United States citizens. He had organized and executed these bombings just to eliminate and completely remove the military presence of the United States in 1980s Lebanon.
4) Mughniyeh was also allegedly involved in an array of abductions in the 1980s
He had also been accused of being personally involved in a long list of abductions of Americans by the U.S. and Israeli officials in Beirut during the 1980s. He was most infamous for the abduction of Terry Waite, Terry Anderson, and William Francis Buckley, who used to be the chief in Beirut of the CIA station.
Some of these victims were murdered by Mughniyeh himself, including Buckley, who were put through extreme medical and psychological torture.
They were supervised by psychiatrist Aziz al-Abub. On 30 September 1985, Mughniyeh reportedly went on to organize the abduction of four Soviet Embassy in Beirut diplomats. One of these individuals was killed by Mughniyeh.
5) Mughniyeh was assassinated at the age of 45 in 2008
Around 11 pm, on February 12, 2008, Imad Mughniyeh was assassinated in a mindful joint CIA and Mossad operation. A calculated car bombing was used to kill the man in the neighborhood of Kafr Sousa in Damascus, Syria.
As stated by The Sunday Times, Mughniyeh was leaving the 29th anniversary of the Iranian Revolution, at around 10:30 pm when the bomb inside his car, a Mitsubishi Pajero, was denoted.
The car was fully destructed in the explosion, however, minimum damage was done to some of the surrounding buildings. Only Mughniyeh was assassinated in the bombing.
Watch Ghosts of Beirut, which will arrive exclusively on the Showtime Channel on Sunday, May 21, 2023, at 10 pm ET.
