IDF Confirms Death of Top Hezbollah Commander Involved in 1983 Bombing of US Marine Corps Barracks That Killed 241 Service Members
On Friday, the IDF has confirmed senior Hezbollah commander Ibrahim Aqil was killed in an airstrike in Lebanon’s capital, Beirut.
In 2023, the US State Department placed a $7 million bounty on Aqil for his role in the 1983 bombing of the US Marine Corps barracks in Beirut, which killed 241 service members.
Aqil was also wanted for the 1984 bombing of the U.S. Embassy in Beruit, which killed 63 people.
IDF Spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari shared:
Hezbollah is an internationally recognized terrorist organization. It is a threat to the people of Israel, the people of Lebanon, the Middle East, and the entire world.
Since October eighth, Hezbollah has fired over 8,000 rockets, missiles, and explosive UAVs at Israeli civilians, forcing over 60,000 Israelis to evacuate from their homes. Just today, Hezbollah fired over 200 rockets at Israel. The Israel Defense Forces has a duty to defend the people of Israel and ensure their safe and secure return to their homes in Northern Israel.
Today, in pursuit of that goal, the IDF conducted a targeted strike in Beirut on senior terrorist Ibrahim Aqil, the head of Hezbala’s operations and the commander of Hezbala’s elite Radwan forces.
I can now confirm that Ibrahim Aqil was eliminated together with other senior terrorists in Hezbollah’s Radwan forces.
Ibrahim Aqil had the blood of many innocent people on his hands, Israelis, Americans, French, Albanese, and more.
During the 1980s, Akil was a principal member of Islamic Jihad Organization, Hezbollah’s Terror Cell, that claimed the bombings of the U.S . Embassy in Beirut in April 1983, which killed 63 people, and the U.S. Marine Barracks bombing in October 1983, which killed 241 U.S. personnel.Ibrahim Aqil also directed the kidnapping of Americans and Germans in Lebanon.
Ibrahim Akil and the Radwan commanders who were eliminated today were planning Hezbollah’s ‘conquer the Galilee’ invasion plan into Israeli communities. These terrorists planned to do in Northern Israel what Hamas did in Southern Israel on October 7. Invade, invade Israeli homes, and kill innocent people.
Watch:
IDF Spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari statement about the elimination of Ibrahim Aqil and additional Radwan commanders in southern suburbs of the Lebanese capital Beirut. pic.twitter.com/VkAmEaJ19H
— EGYPT FIRST (@EGYPTFIRST79459) September 20, 2024
Alongside Aqil, the top brass of Hezbollah’s operations array and the leadership of the Radwan Force were killed in the strike, according to the military.
“They gathered underground, under a residential building, in the heart of the Dahiyeh, while using civilians as a human shield. They met to coordinate terror activities against Israeli civilians,” IDF Spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said in a press conference.
Twelve people were killed and 66 were wounded, according to initial figures from Lebanon’s health ministry. The strike took out a pair of multi-story buildings in the Dahiyeh area of south Beirut.
40 years ago to the day, Ibrahim Aqil helped direct a Hezbollah suicide bombing that targeted the American embassy in Beirut.
Today, Israel eliminated him with a surgical airstrike in Beirut.
Justice is served.
— Israel War Room (@IsraelWarRoom) September 20, 2024
News of Aqil’s death comes after explosions rocked the country in recent days as home solar energy systems, pagers, and walkie-talkies, exploded at various Hezbollah-controlled locations across the country.
