Who is the 'designer of operations to kill American soldiers' killed in Syria?

One of the recent Israeli airstrikes in Syria resulted in the death of 'Ali Moussa Daqdouq', a senior commander of Hezbollah Lebanon. According to a U.S. military official speaking to NBC, Daqdouq was the mastermind behind one of the most complex attacks against U.S. forces during the Iraq War. The official, who requested anonymity, stated, 'We still do not have details on the Israeli airstrike and do not know specifically when and where it occurred, or whether Daqdouq was specifically the target of the attack.' The U.S. Department of Defense (Pentagon) and the Israeli embassy in Washington have also not responded to media inquiries on this matter. However, a Lebanese security source and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights told AFP that Daqdouq, who was responsible for the Golan file in Hezbollah, 'was targeted in the Israeli attack on November 10 (20 Aban) in the Zainabiyah area.' That day's attack targeted a building where 'Lebanese families and members of Hezbollah live'; a group supported by the Islamic Republic and recognized as terrorist by the U.S. According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, the attack left at least 9 dead. Who is Daqdouq? According to the Institute for the Study of War, Ali Moussa Daqdouq joined Hezbollah Lebanon in 1983. Shortly thereafter, he was appointed commander of the group's special operations unit. Daqdouq quickly rose through the ranks of Hezbollah and became the coordinator of operations in various sections of the group. He was also responsible for coordinating the personal security of Hassan Nasrallah, the former Secretary-General of Hezbollah, who was killed this year in an Israeli airstrike in southern Beirut. Arrest in Iraq after kidnapping American soldiers In July 2007, the U.S. military announced that it had captured Ali Daqdouq in southern Iraq. The United States emphasized that it had captured a member of Hezbollah Lebanon who 'had traveled to Iraq to train Iraqi insurgents with the help of the Quds Force of the Revolutionary Guards.' The U.S. accused Daqdouq, who was known in Iraq as 'Hamid Mohammed Jabour al-Lami', of masterminding the January 2007 attack in Karbala against U.S. forces. In that attack, one American soldier was killed, and four others were kidnapped. These four soldiers were also killed shortly afterward. The U.S. states that 'Hezbollah leadership sent Daqdouq to Iran in 2005 to assist in training Iraqi extremists.' Surrender to the Iraqi government Before leaving Iraq in 2011, Washington announced that after receiving guarantees from the Iraqi government that 'Ali Daqdouq would be punished for his crimes', it surrendered him to Iraqi officials. Ali Daqdouq was the last prisoner that the United States surrendered to Baghdad before its withdrawal from Iraq; an action that angered some members of the U.S. Congress, who saw it as 'a negative message to Washington's allies in the region.' Among them, Mitch McConnell, the then-minority leader, and John McCain, a former presidential candidate, described the surrender of 'the terrorist Daqdouq to the Iraqi government instead of to an American military court' as 'a scandal.' They added, 'We are very concerned that Daqdouq will not be punished for his involvement in the murder of American citizens and will be released for political reasons by the Iraqis, and afterward will resume fighting against the United States and our allies.' Resumption of activities after release Ultimately, the Iraqi criminal court decided in 2012 to release Ali Daqdouq 'due to lack of evidence for conviction.' The Israeli army announced in 2019 that it had discovered a unit that Hezbollah Lebanon had established behind the ceasefire line in the Golan Heights; a unit commanded by 'Ali Daqdouq.' In a statement published by Avichay Adraee, the Arabic-speaking spokesperson for the Israeli army, this unit was described as 'Hezbollah's secret plan,' stating that the purpose of establishing this unit was 'to position itself in a way that it could act against Israel.'