Fuad Shukr | |
|---|---|
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| Native name | فؤاد شكر |
| Born | (1961-04-15)15 April 1961 Al-Nabi Shayth, Lebanon |
| Died | 30 July 2024(2024-07-30) (aged 63) Haret Hreik, Lebanon |
| Allegiance |  Hezbollah |
| Years of service | 1982–2024 |
| Known for | 1983 Beirut barracks bombings |
| Battles / wars | |
Fuad Shukr (Arabic:فؤاد شكر; 15 April 1961 – 30 July 2024; sometimes spelledFouad Shukar and also known by his aliasesAl-Hajj Mohsen orMohsen Shukr)[1] was a Lebanese militant leader who was a senior member ofHezbollah. A member of Hezbollah's founding generation, Shukr was a senior military leader in the organization from the early 1980s. For over four decades, he was one of the group's leading military figures and was a military advisor to its leaderHassan Nasrallah.
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Shukr was, according to Israeli intelligence, a key figure in the transfer of Iranian guidance systems for Hezbollah's long-range missiles.[2] He was believed to have played a role in the1983 Beirut barracks bombings,[2] that killed 241 U.S. and 58 French military personnel, six civilians and two attackers. TheU.S. Department of State designated Shukr as aSpecially Designated Global Terrorist in 2013.[3]
On 30 July 2024, Shukr was killed inan Israeli airstrike in Beirut for his alleged responsibility for theMajdal Shams attack three days earlier, which killed 12 children.[4][5]
Shukr was born on 15 April 1961,[6] at the village ofAl-Nabi Shayth, in eastern Lebanon, which was also the birthplace of Hezbollah co-founderAbbas al-Musawi. After Hezbollah's establishment, the village became one of its central bases of power. Shukr's house in Al-Nabi Shayth is believed to be the last known location ofRon Arad, an Israeli fighter pilot who went missing in Lebanon in 1986. Shukr received his military education atImam Hossein University inTehran.[7]
From the time of Hezbollah's founding by theIranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in 1982, Shukr was one of its leading military figures. He was part of the group's founding generation and its most senior military commander, serving as an advisor on military operations to Hezbollah's leaderHassan Nasrallah.[8][9] The militant organization's top military commander insouthern Lebanon, he was on theJihad Council, where his role was to serve as an advisor to Hezbollah's leadership on all matters related to military operations, including training with the IRGC's eliteQuds Force.[7]
A close associate ofImad Mughniyeh,Mustafa Badreddine, and Mustafa Shahada, Shukr fought against Israeli troops after theIsraeli invasion of Lebanon in 1982.[8] Shukr participated in the planning and execution of the1983 Beirut barracks bombings, which resulted in the deaths of 307 people, including 241 U.S. military personnel and 58 French soldiers.[7][8] Israel accused Shukr of direct involvement in the2000 Hezbollah cross-border raid, in which Hezbollah abducted and killed three Israeli soldiers.[10][11]
He was responsible for procuring the group's more advanced weapons arsenal, including precision-guided missiles,cruise missiles, antiship missiles, long-range rockets, and UAVs.[11] According to U.S. intelligence, Shukr was sent toTehran in 1994 to handle a shipment ofStinger missiles from Iran.[7] His prominence grew after Mughniyeh was assassinated in Damascus in 2008.[11]
By the outbreak of theSyrian Civil War, Shukr was Hezbollah's military commander in southern Lebanon, its most important sector.[7][12][8] According to some reports, in 2016, Shukr replaced Badreddine as Hezbollah's military commander, after Badreddine was killed duringHezbollah's intervention in the Syrian Civil War.[13]
TheU.S. Department of State designated Shukr as aSpecially Designated Global Terrorist in 2013 and added him to itsRewards for Justice Program (RFJ) on 10 October 2017, offering $5 million for information leading to his arrest. Shukr was added to the RFJ program alongside Hezbollah's head of foreign operationsTalal Hamiyah as part of the first rewards for Hezbollah figures in a decade.[3]
On 30 July 2024, Shukr was killed inan Israeli airstrike in Beirut for his alleged responsibility for theMajdal Shams attack on 27 July that killed 12Druze children.[4][5] Before the airstrike, he had received a call asking him to go from his office to his home. Shukr had his office on the second floor, and lived on the seventh floor of the same building. It is believed that the call was made after someone connected to Israel, breached Hezbollah's internal communications network, and saw it would be easier to target him at a higher floor.[14] Hezbollah said thatThe Wall Street Journal report was "fabricated" and "full of lies".[15] The attack also killed Iranian military adviser Milad Bedi,[16] four civilians and injured 80 others.[17] Shukr's funeral was held on 2 August.[18]
