MM News

A new airstrike by Israel in Syria has reportedly killed Ali Mussa Daqduq, one of the top Hezbollah operatives behind one of the boldest and deadliest attacks on U.S. troops during the war with Iraq. Daqduq was part of the plot to execute the 2007 raid in Karbala, five U.S. soldiers dead.

Daqduq was captured by U.S. forces after the January 20, 2007, ambush, in which militants dressed in American military uniform infiltrated a U.S.-Iraqi military base and assassinated five American soldiers. The Iraqi government released Daqduq in 2011, stirring indignation among U.S. officials.

The precision raid included militants dressed in U.S. military fatigues who were able to evade the security personnel and advance through a number of checkpoints. After making off with U.S. soldiers as hostages, they were reportedly leaving when they killed four of them while trying to make their escape.

They suspected Iran as being behind the attack, especially the Quds Force of Iran, who sent out some of them to train and handle the operation. The capture and confession of Daqduq uncovered Quds Force’s whole involvement in the operation.

Despite his release, Daqduq continued operations and eventually rose to become a Hezbollah leader, which he remained until he was killed in the Israeli airstrike. Officials with the U.S. Defense Department and Israel had no further comment on the airstrike, but did not disclose any information about this, such as where in Syria the airstrike took place, or when.

The strikes in Beirut have accompanied Israel’s broader offensive that began in September against cross-border hostilities related to the Gaza war.

While most of the military efforts by Israel have been against southern Lebanon, central Beirut has increasingly borne the brunt of this attack. An Israeli airstrike killed a Hezbollah media official in the Ras Al-Nabaa district of Beirut earlier in the week.