Today marks exactly ten years since the mysterious explosion in Damascus that killed Mustafa Badreddine, one of the most senior and feared figures in Hezbollah and the longtime right-hand man of Imad Mughniyeh.
Following Mughniyeh’s assassination in 2008, widely attributed to Israel, Badreddine became responsible for Hezbollah’s foreign operations and external terror activities.
Over the years, he was linked to dozens of major terror attacks, including airplane hijackings, kidnappings of diplomats and foreign soldiers, assassinations, and international terrorist operations targeting Western and Middle Eastern interests.
Badreddine held an extremely high status in Iran and among Shiite Islamist circles across the region. He was considered one of Hezbollah’s most experienced operational commanders and maintained close ties with Iran’s military and intelligence establishment.