The target of the Israeli airstrike in Lebanon’s capital Beirut Friday afternoon was Ibrahim Aqil, according to security sources.
Aqil is chief of the Radwan forces, Hezbollah’s top military body.
As shown on the Department of State’s website, on April 18, 2023 (the anniversary of Hezbollah’s bombing of the US Embassy in Beirut), the US Department of State’s Rewards for Justice (RFJ) program (administered by the Diplomatic Security Service) announced a reward of up to $7 million for information leading to the identification, location, arrest, and-or conviction of Hezbollah key leader Ibrahim Aqil.
Ibrahim Aqil, also known as Tahsin, serves on Hezbollah’s highest military body, the Jihad Council.
During the 1980s, Aqil was a principal member of Hezbollah’s Islamic Jihad Organization, which claimed responsibility for the bombings of the US Embassy in Beirut in April 1983, which killed 63 people, and the US Marine Corps barracks in October 1983, which killed 241 US personnel.
Also in the 1980s, Aqil directed the taking of American and German hostages in Lebanon and held them there.
Aqil is a central figure in Hezbollah. He played a role in the group’s involvement in the Syrian civil war after 2011, according to the Washington Institute
On July 21, 2015, the US Department of the Treasury listed Aqil as a Specially Designated National pursuant to Executive Order 13582 for acting for or on behalf of Hezbollah. Subsequently, on September 10, 2019, the US Department of State designated Aqil as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist under Executive Order 13224, as amended, according to the US State Department website.
