Who was Ibrahim Aqil, chief of Hezbollah's elite Radwan Force, killed in Israeli strike

Hezbollah's top commander Ibrahim Aqil, alongside two others, were killed in a strike,carried out by Israel on Friday (Sep 20) evening. The strikes took place in Lebanon's capital city of Beirut and itssouthern suburbs dealing a huge blow to the militant outfit whose chief, Hassan Nasrallah had vowed revenge against Israel, only a day before in a televised address.

Aqil was the second-in-command of Hezbollah's armed forces, behind Fuad Shukr who was also killed in an Israeli strike in July.

The Israeli military confirmed Aqil's death saying he alongside his troops hadgathered underground when they were targeted and killed in an airstrike.

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“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,” said Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari.

According to the IDF, Aqil was planning to "raid Israeli territory, occupy the communities of the Galilee, murder and kill innocents, similar to what the Hamas terror organisation carried out in the murderous massacre on October 7".

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Who was Ibrahim Aqil?

Ibrahim Aqil, also known as Tahsin, served in Hezbollah'shighest military body, the Jihad Council. He also led the elite Radwan Force, the outfit's top military unit.

Formed after the 2006 Second Lebanon War, the Radwan Force was created to bolster Hezbollah’s offensive capabilities. The unit is primarily responsible for ground warfare, including high-risk missions such as infiltratingIsraeli territory.

In the 1980s, he was a principal member of Hezbollah's terrorist cellthe Islamic Jihad Organisation, which claimed responsibility for the bombings of the Americanembassy in Beirut in April 1983, which killed 63 people, and the USMarine Corps barracks in October 1983, which killed 241 USpersonnel.

In July 2015, the USDepartment of the Treasury listed Aqil as a Specially Designated National,for acting for or on behalf of Hezbollah.

In April last year, on the 40th anniversary of the attack on the US embassy, Washington put a reward of $7 million on Aqil's head.

Commenting on Aqil's death,White House national security spokesman John Kirby said he was “not aware” of Israel giving the USprior notice about the Beirut strike.

"War is not inevitable up there at the Blue Line, and we're going to continue to do everything we can to try to prevent it," added Kirby.

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(With inputs from agencies)