Hezbollah Identifies 'Takfiri Forces' as the Cause of Badreddine's Death

On Saturday, May 25, Hezbollah officially announced that the mortar attack by 'a group of Takfiri forces' was responsible for the assassination and death of Mustafa Badreddine, the military commander of the organization, in Syria. Mustafa Amin Badreddine, who was considered the second-in-command of Hezbollah after Hassan Nasrallah, was killed early Friday, May 24, at a military base near Damascus Airport, in one of the safest areas for the Syrian government. Hezbollah's statement on Saturday was published by Al-Manar, the organization's television network. In its statement, Hezbollah also vowed that the crime committed by the 'group of Takfiri forces' would only strengthen Hezbollah's resolve 'to continue the fight against these criminal groups until their defeat.' Thus, Hezbollah's statement dismisses media speculation regarding the possibility of Badreddine being killed by Israel. However, Hezbollah added in its statement: 'In any case, our war is a unified war against the American-Zionist scheme, in which Takfiri terrorists are the spearhead and frontline in aggression against the nation and resistance.' Previously, Sheikh Naeem Qassem, the deputy secretary-general of Hezbollah, stated on Friday night: 'There is conclusive evidence to identify the perpetrators of the attack, and soon the perpetrator of the martyrdom of the great Mujahid will be introduced.' Meanwhile, some Arab media claimed on Friday that seven other senior Hezbollah officials and 'a senior commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard' were also killed in the Takfiri attack on this building, but Hezbollah denied these reports on Friday night. In recent years, Hezbollah has lost several of its senior commanders in operations in Syria. For instance, after the death of Samir Quntar in a terrorist attack four months ago, Hezbollah pointed the finger at Israel. Fourteen months ago, Hezbollah attributed the killing of jihad Mughniyeh, the eldest son of Imad Mughniyeh, alongside Colonel of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Mohammad Ali Allahdadi and several other Hezbollah forces in the Quneitra region of Syria to Israel. In this context, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recently confirmed that Israel has been responsible for attacks in Syria, Lebanon, and 'other distant and near points' to counter Hezbollah. Israeli Minister Ze'ev Elkin remained silent in an interview with the country's radio when asked about Israel's possible involvement in Mustafa Badreddine's killing, but two Israeli reserve generals stated in interviews that Badreddine's absence is 'beneficial to Israel.' Meanwhile, the United States emphasized on Friday that it had no involvement at the time of Badreddine's assassination in the mentioned area of Syria. Badreddine, 55, was on the list of wanted individuals by the United States, Israel, and some other countries. He was accused of being sent to Kuwait in the late 1980s to carry out Hezbollah's plan to blow up the U.S. forces' headquarters in Kuwait and assassinate the emir of that country; Kuwait imprisoned him, but following Saddam Hussein's invasion of Kuwait, Badreddine escaped from prison amid the ensuing chaos and returned to Lebanon. The Hague court had also requested Lebanon to extradite Badreddine for trial on charges of the murder of Rafik Hariri, the then-prime minister of Lebanon, along with three other Hezbollah members. Rafik Hariri was killed eleven years ago in a massive explosion in the heart of Beirut. Mohammad Javad Zarif, Iran's foreign minister, and Ali Larijani, the speaker of the Iranian Parliament, separately expressed their condolences to Hassan Nasrallah regarding Badreddine's death.