Hezbollah Commander’s Background

Ibrahim Aqil, a commander of the armed group Hezbollah who was killed in an Israeli “targeted airstrike” targeting the Lebanese capital Beirut, was reportedly a person whom the United States designated as a terrorist and placed on a sanctions list for nearly 10 years, and who had a large bounty on his head.

According to reports from AFP and the New York Times (NYT), Major General Daniel Hagari, the chief spokesman for the Israeli military, said, “On this day, the commander of Hezbollah’s special operations unit Radwan, Ibrahim Aqil, was killed, and at least 10 Hezbollah commanders were killed along with Aqil.” A few hours after the Israeli military’s announcement, Hezbollah also said, “Aqil was killed in an Israeli airstrike.”

Aqil’s Role in Hezbollah

Aqil, one of Hezbollah’s most senior leaders, has served as the group’s chief of operations since 2004, overseeing anti-tank missile units and air defense operations.

Radwan, which he led, is Hezbollah’s most powerful offensive unit. It has many experienced fighters, some of whom have fought outside Lebanon, including in Syria. Hezbollah has openly supported the Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s military since 2013.

US Designation as a Terrorist

The U.S. Treasury Department has stressed that Aqil played an “indispensable role” in Hezbollah’s military operations in Syria. The U.S. has specifically said that Aqil was a member of Hezbollah’s top military wing, the Jihad Council, and a key member of the Islamic Jihad Organization, a Hezbollah-linked group behind the 1983 bombings of the U.S. Embassy and Marine barracks in Beirut that killed more than 350 people.

Aqil is also known to have directed the bombing of the US Marine Corps barracks. The US has placed him on the wanted list for his role in both incidents. Last year, the US also offered a reward of up to $7 million for information leading to his discovery, location, arrest, or conviction.

The United States also said that Aqil had masterminded the kidnapping of Americans and Germans in Lebanon in the late 1980s and was involved in the 1986 Paris bombings. In 2015, it sanctioned Aqil and Shukr as terrorists, and in 2019, it added Aqil to the list of “specially designated international terrorists.”

Aqil’s Background and Survival

Meanwhile, he, believed to be in his 60s, is known to have been a member of Hezbollah since its founding in the 1980s and has previously survived several assassination attempts.