Mustafa Badreddine

The Saudi-owned Al Arabiya reported that Badreddine was killed by his former bodyguard, a man he trusted completely and one of Hezbollah's top operatives, Ibrahim Hussein Jazini and bodyguard of leader Hassan Nasrallah, by order of Nasrallah and Iranian general Qasem Soleimani. This was confirmed on 21 March 2017 by the head of the Israel Defense Forces, Gadi Eizenkot, who stated that Badreddine was killed by his own men due to internal rivalries, and the order to kill Badreddine was given by Hassan Nasrallah.

On 13 May 2016, it was reported that Badreddine had been killed by an explosion near the Damascus International Airport, the cause and timing of which remained unclear. At the funeral, Nasrallah, Secretary General of Hezbollah, said: "they would soon announce conclusions about the perpetrators". His corpse was taken to Ghobeiry, Beirut, where it was buried in Rawdat Shahidayn cemetery on 13 May.

Badreddine was specifically accused of planning and supervising the assassination by the tribunal. In addition, he was described by the STL as the main organizator of the operation. Accusations about him and other three Hezbollah members were based on mobile phone evidence. Hasan Nasrallah threatened the tribunal upon its declaration. Since then, Badreddine and the others disappeared and allegedly fled to Iran. On 1 February 2012, the STL decided to try him in absentia. The trial would begin in March 2013, but it was postponed and no date was specified. It began in January 2014.

Badreddine and Talal Hamiyah were put on the list of Specially Designated Global Terrorists by the US Treasury Department on 13 September 2012 due to his alleged role as top military commander, replacing Mugniyah who died in 2008. The basis for their designation was E.O. 13224 for providing support to Hezbollah's terrorist activities in the Middle East and around the world.

Following the beginning of the Syrian Civil War in 2011 Badreddine went to Syria as one of the Hezbollah commanders to defend the government of Bashar Assad. He joined the war in 2013. He was fighting with opposition groups in Aleppo's countryside.

In June 2011 Badreddine and other three people were indicted for charges related to the assassination of former Lebanon prime minister Rafiq Hariri by the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL). The indictment was unsealed on 29 July 2011.

Badreddine was a member of the Shura council for Hezbollah and the head of the unit for overseas operations, Hezbollah's external operations branch. His aide in this post was Abdul Hadi Hammade, who previously commanded Hezbollah's secret Position 71. Prior to his appointment to this post in 2009, replacing Imad Mughniyah, Badreddine served as the commander of Hezbollah's military arm and an advisor to Hezbollah's Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah. Badreddine's appointment as the head of overseas operation was not supported by deputy general secretary of Hezbollah, Naim Qassem. He was also Nasrallah's chief of intelligence.

Badreddine escaped from the prison in 1990 during the invasion of Kuwait or the Iraqis released the imprisoned Badreddine and the others.

In order to force the authorities to release Badreddine and others, Hezbollah members headed by Imad Mugniyed kidnapped at least four Western citizens in Lebanon. Mugniyeh also hijacked a Kuwait Airways Corporation (KAC) plane in Bangkok in 1988, demanding the release of him and other detainees.

Ya Libnan reported that he had been behind the bombing of the US Marine Corps barracks in Lebanon in 1983, killing 241 marines.

Badreddine entered Kuwait in 1983 on a fake Lebanese passport under the name of Elias Saab, or Elias Al Saab. He was a member of the militant group Dawa 17 or Al Dawa.

He was arrested in Kuwait together with 17 suspects one month after seven blasts in the country in a single day on 13 December 1983, including the truck bombings of the US and French embassies in Kuwait City. The attacks left nearly five people dead and 86 injured. However, it is also argued that the use of the group's name in these events was a deception to hide the real groups that perpetrated these attacks. In 1985, Badreddine allegedly ordered the assassination of Kuwait emir, but the attempt failed.

Until 1982, Badreddine, like Mugniyeh, was part of Fatah's Force 17. Later they both joined Hezbollah. Badreddine was among Hezbollah's bomb makers.

Mustafa Badreddine (Arabic: مصطفى بدر الدين ‎‎; 6 April 1961 – c. 13 May 2016), also known as Mustafa Badr Al Din, Mustafa Amine Badreddine, Mustafa Youssef Badreddine, Sami Issa, and Elias Fouad Saab, was a military leader of Hezbollah and both the cousin and brother-in-law of Imad Mughniyah. He was nicknamed Dhu al-Fiqar referring to the legendary sword of Imam Ali. Badreddine was assassinated in 2016 by order of Nasrallah and Iranian general Qasem Soleimani. His death is seen as one of the biggest blows in the Hezbollah leadership.

Badreddine was born on 6 April 1961 in Al Ghobeiry, municipality in the Baabda District. His parents are Amine Badreddine and Fatima Jezeini, who originate from South Lebanon.