CNN has the scoop.

A Hezbollah commander suspected in some of the deadliest terrorist attacks of the last 25 years and a reputed role model for Osama bin Laden has been killed in Syria, Hezbollah TV said Wednesday.

Imad Mughniyeh died in an explosion in a residential section of the Syrian capital, Damascus, said Hezbollah’s television station, Al-Manar.

The Israelis have denied involvement, but why wouldn’t they? Either way, there’s one less really bad man breathing this morning. That’s a good thing.

Intelligence sources described Mughniyeh as one of the craftiest and deadliest terrorists in the world who managed to elude capture for decades by changing his appearance and covering his footsteps.

Western intelligence agencies long suspected Mughniyeh in the 1983 bombing of the U.S. Embassy in Beirut, Lebanon, that killed 63 people, according to a 2001 CNN report. He also was suspected in the truck bombing that year of the U.S. Marine barracks in Beirut, an attack that killed 241 people and preceded the U.S. military withdrawal from Lebanon.

Before the September 11 terrorist attacks, U.S. officials had blamed Mughniyeh for the deaths of more Americans around the world than any other terror suspect, CNN reported in 2001. A month after the attacks in the U.S., the FBI debuted its Most Wanted Terrorists list with Mughniyeh on it.

So what does this mean for the Global War on Terror? It certainly harms Hezbollah, which is good for the overall Middle East peace process.

There’s some more background on just how significant this is over at The Corner where they reference a 2002 article from Perceptions:

While Osama bin Laden may be the American governments most wanted terrorist, many present and former Central Intelligence Agency officials and counter terrorism specialists consider Imad Mughniyeh to be the most dangerous man alive. Who exactly is Mughniyeh? He was a founding member of Lebanese Hizbollah, and reportedly directed both Hizbollahs security wing and its overseas operations. However, Mughniyehs trail of blood has shown that Hizbollah is not merely some resistance army engaged in a struggle against Israel, as many of apologists like to assert. Mughniyeh is suspected of planning the suicide attacks against the US embassy in Beirut in 1983, as well as both the American and French marine barracks later that same year (by targeting the peacekeepers, Mughniyeh fulfilled Hizbollahs and their Iranian sponsors objective of prolonging the Lebanese civil war). Beginning in 1984, Mughniyeh masterminded a series of kidnappings of several Westerners and is alleged to have personally tortured and murdered William Buckley, the Central Intelligence Agency Station Chief in Beirut. In 1985, he participated in the hijacking to Beirut of a TWA passenger jet en route to Rome from Athens. During the course of the ensuing 17-day hostage seizure, the hijackers murdered an American passenger. In 1992, Mughniyeh planned the car bomb attack on the Israel embassy in Argentina. Lest any apologists claim that Hizbollahs struggle against Israel is merely political and therefore legitimate, Mughniyeh showed his true colours again in Buenos Aires in 1994, when he orchestrated the bomb attack on the Jewish cultural centre. Most recently, Mughniyeh’s name surfaced as the facilitator for a shipment of 50-tons of Iranian arms the Palestinian Authority ordered, but which the Israeli military intercepted in the Red Sea. Janes Intelligence Review reported that Israeli military intelligence analysts still consider Mughniyeh to be the mastermind of the World Trade Centre attacks.

The Belmont Club links to the possibility that the Syrians were involved in offing this thug:

Mughniyeh’s death came on the eve of an expected mass rally in central Beirut to mark the third anniversary of the assassination of Rafik Hariri, a former Lebanese prime minister. Lebanon is in the throes of a grave political crisis pitting the anti-Syrian March 14 parliamentary coalition against the Hezbollah-led opposition. …

Walid Jumblatt, an outspoken March 14 leader told The Times that Mughniyeh’s death was “good news”, and hinted that the Hezbollah commander may have been betrayed by his Syrian allies.

In the same post, Wretchard at The Belmont Club also thinks this could be Iran tying up loose ends:

Fausta notices that by coincidence, the US was pressuring diplomatically and financially Iran to do something about the 1994 attack on a Jewish community center in Argentina. In fact Argentina issued an arrest warrant in 1999 against “Hezbollah member Imad Mugniyah” in connection with the attack. So to Jumblatt’s suspicion that the Syrians double-crossed him or accusations that the Israelis killed him must be added the possibility that the Iranians were tying up loose ends. There will be a lot of speculation over the next few days.

Hugh Hewitt links to more reaction and adds his own.

From Israel:

Former Mossad chief Danny Yatom on Wednesday welcomed the death of Hezbollah Deputy Secretary General Imad Mughniyah in a bomb blast in Damascus, calling it “a great achievement for the free world in its fight on terror.”

“Mughniyah was one of the most dangerous and cruel terrorists of all time,” said the Labor MK. “There are numerous intelligence agencies and countries that have been pursuing him, and the one that was successful in reaching him [has proven itself] – to have a high intelligence and operational capability.”

Hugh:

The war against radical Islamists is ongoing and brutal though largely ignored by the Democratic presidential candidates. See if either Senator Obama or Clinton comments on either of these killings today.

I wouldn’t hold your breath, Hugh. Remember, we have “friends” in Damascus and we just need to talk to the Iranians.

Jawa Report has a list of some of the Americans murdered by Mughniyeh.

Solomonia gladly adds “former” to Mughniyeh’s terror title.

Update: 2:52PM CST: A few more links trickle in with more information.

lgf: Mughniyeh Dead, Syria Blames Israel

Counterterrorism Blog: The Importance of Imad Mughniyeh

Amy Ridenour’s National Center Blog: TWA 847 Hijacking Mastermind Pays the Price

Counterterrorism Blog: CT Blog posts on role of Imad Mughniyeh, top Hezbollah terrorist

Debbie Schlussel – Imad Mughniyeh, RIH: His Relatives and Operatives’ Relatives Thrive in Dearbornistan

Gateway Pundit: Hezbollah Leader Imad Mughniyeh Blown Up in Damascus- Iran Blames Isreal

Atlas Shrugs: KILLER MUGNIYEH DEAD! Booya!

The Corner on National Review Online – Imad Mugniyah, Iran and al Qaeda

Michelle picks it up with a reminder not to be complacent.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, February 13th, 2008 at 10:29 AM and is filed under Death, Democrats, Foreign Policy, Syria, Terrorism. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.