Hezbollah's military commander Fuad Shukr was assassinated after a breach of the terror group's communications, the Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday, citing a source in the Iran-backed group. Israel claimed responsibility for his targeted killing last month, which has led to Hezbollah's threats to retaliate.
"Shukr received a call from someone telling him to go to his apartment five floors up. Around 7 p.m., Israeli munitions slammed into the apartment and the three floors underneath, killing Shukr, his wife, two other women and two children, the paper said adding that the call likely came from someone who had breached Hezbollah’s internal communications network.
The newspaper described Shukr as a "ghost" who was rarely seen in public. He lived and worked in the same building in Beirut's Dahya quarter – a Hezbollah stronghold – to avoid being exposed to attack. His identity was such a secret that, after he was assassinated, Lebanese outlets posted a wrong photograph of the commander.
According to the report, Shukr instructed senior Hezbollah commanders to remain in hiding anticipating an Israeli retaliation after the killing of children in Majdal Shams in a missile attack.
The 30-year veteran of Hezbollah was involved in orchestrating the 1983 attack on the Marine barracks in Beirut, killing 241 American soldiers. The U.S. State Department has placed a $5 million bounty on his head.