Thursday, January 22, 2015

STL suspect Badreddine at Mughniyeh funeral

The Daily Star - Jan. 22, 2015
BEIRUT: Senior Hezbollah operative Mustafa Badreddine, whom the Special Tribunal for Lebanon accuses along with three others of being behind the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, received condolences alongside his family for the death of his nephew Jihad Imad Mughniyeh, attendees at the funeral told The Daily Star.
Mughniyeh died in Israel's strike on a Hezbollah convoy in Syria's Qunaitra over the weekend. Badreddine's sister Saada was married to Hezbollah military commander Imad Mughniyeh, who was assassinated in Damascus in 2008.
Badreddine was seen receiving condolences with the family Monday, when Jihad Mughniyeh, 25, was laid to rest.
Since the STL indictment of July 29, 2011, named Badreddine and three other Hezbollah operatives – Salim Jamil Ayyash, Hussein Hassan Oneissi and Assad Hassan Sabra – the men have disappeared, with reports saying they allegedly fled to Iran.
The Tribunal accused Badreddine of being the mastermind of the Valentine's Day attack, saying he was the main organizer of the operation.
After a failure to apprehend the suspects, the STL issued a decision on Feb. 1, 2012, to try them in absentia.