On Thursday Lebanon’s
Hezbollah will hold a funeral in Beirut for its
top commander Imad Moughniyah, who was killed Tuesday by a car bomb by Israeli
agents in Damascus,
Syria.
At the same time the organization is launching threats to revenge his death
against its enemy Israel.
Israel
has warned its embassies and other official interests abroad fearing of
reprisals. It has also sent troops at the Lebanese border for tighter security.
Hezbollah and Iran,
its main supporter, blamed Israel
for Moughniyah death.
A large crowd is expected to show at the funeral in Beirut's Shi'ite Muslim
southern suburb to say goodbye to the legend, as seen by Hezbollah, but to the
U.S as one of the most wanted terrorists accused for the 1985 hijacking which
targeted Israelis and Westerners.
Manouchehr Mottaki, Foreign Minister of Iran, is expected to
be present at the funeral.
The funeral will occur after a march by the anti-Syrian
ruling coalition made to celebrate the third anniversary of the assassination
of former Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri.
Thousands of people with red, white and green Lebanese flags
gathered at Martyrs' Square in the centre of Beirut standing in the rain to hear the speeches
of anti-Syrian leaders, like Hariri's son and political heir, Saad.
Over 15 months the anti-Syrian coalition and the Hezbollah-led
opposition are in a struggle over power which left the country without president
since November.
Moughniyah was on the FBI’s “Most Wanted Terrorists” for his
role in the 1985 hijacking of the plane which was on its way from Athens, Greece
to Rome, Italy
when it was seized by the terrorists and forced to land in Beirut.
Some of the captives were killed while others were released
in exchange of U.S. weapons
to Iran.
This was later known as the Iran-Contra scandal. One of the victims was the
CIA's station chief.
Moughniyah was accused by Israel
for the bombing of a Jewish centre in Buenos
Aires in 1994 when 87 people were killed and for a bomb
attack on the Israeli embassy in the capital of Argentina
which left 28 people dead.
Hezbollah’s leader, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, is expected to address
the crowd present at the funeral via a video link.
Moughniyah's coffin, covered with a Hezbollah flag and with
four men in uniforms by its side, was put in a hall where people could present
their respects to the family.
Moughniyah was believed to be the commander of Islamic
Jihad, a group which appeared in the 1980s in Lebanon.
