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Hezbollah picks Mughniyah replacement
Hezbollah has appointed a replacement for Imad Mughniyah, the Lebanese militant group's operations chief who was assassinated in February, the Kuwaiti newspaper Al Rai Al Aam reported on Friday. The paper identified the replacement as Mustafa Shahada, a member of the group's military apparatus since its founding. It should be noted that the report has not been corroborated by any other source. According to the report, the decision was apparently reached ahead of Hezbollah's general convention a few weeks ago. Al Rai Al Aam described Shahada as a professional fighter who is highly regarded by the group's guerillas and leadership. Shahada has kept a very low profile until today, and is credited with having good operational capabilities. "This commander... is very aware of [Hezbollah's] aspirations, and knows how to carry out its purposes and vision in the medium and long term," the paper wrote. The daily also confirmed earlier reports that should Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah become incapacitated in some way, his nephew Hasham Tzefi A-Din will stand in for him. It added that Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has made a special religious decree allowing for Nasrallh to continue as Hezbollah's secretary general despite a limit set by the group's regulations. Last month, Nasrallah reiterated his vow to avenge the assassination of Mughniyeh in a Damascus car bombing, for which he blames Israel. Israel has denied involvement in the incident. Posted by: Fred 2008-11-02 |
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