Hassan Hawlo al-Laqqis ( ar, حسان اللقيس; ?? – 4 December 2013) was

Hezbollah Hezbollah (; ar, حزب الله ', , also transliterated Hizbullah or Hizballah, among others) is a Lebanese Shia Islamist political party and militant group, led by its Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah since 1992. Hezbollah's parami ...

’s chief logistics officer and military commander in

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...

. Laqqis was assassinated when two gunmen shot him four times in the head and neck inside his car from close range around midnight of 3–4 December 2013.

Activities

Laqqis served most of his life in the group's military service since its first days of inception in the 1980s until his death. He was among the top commanders of Hezbollah in the 2006 second Lebanon war against Israel. At the time of his killing, he served in several battles inside

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

. He was alleged to be the group's logistics and procurement chief. He was very close to the group's leader

Hassan Nasrallah Hassan Nasrallah ( ar, حسن نصر الله ; born 31 August 1960) is a Lebanese cleric and political leader who has served as the 3rd secretary-general of Hezbollah since his predecessor, Abbas al-Musawi, was assassinated by the Israel Def ...

and also, reportedly lost a son during the

2006 Lebanon War The 2006 Lebanon War, also called the 2006 Israel–Hezbollah War and known in Lebanon as the July War ( ar, حرب تموز, ''Ḥarb Tammūz'') and in Israel as the Second Lebanon War ( he, מלחמת לבנון השנייה, ''Milhemet Leva ...

Matthew Levitt Matthew Levitt is the Fromer-Wexler Fellow and director of the Jeanette and Eli Reinhard Program on Counterterrorism and Intelligence at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy and an adjunct professor in Georgetown University's Center for Sec ...

, author of the recent book ''Hezbollah: The Global Footprint of Lebanon’s Party of God'' and a senior fellow and director of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy’s Stein Program on Counter-terrorism and Intelligence stated that there is "no question, he is very important" and that he was Hezbollah's chief military Arms Procurement and Strategic Weapons officer. He believes that Laqqis was killed by Israel's intelligence service

Mossad Mossad ( , ), ; ar, الموساد, al-Mōsād, ; , short for ( he, המוסד למודיעין ולתפקידים מיוחדים, links=no), meaning 'Institute for Intelligence and Special Operations'. is the national intelligence agency ...

Assassination and funeral

Laqqis was killed in an assassination when reportedly a number of gunmen shot him in the head in his car from close range as he arrived at his home at around midnight of 3–4 December 2013 local Beirut time in the Hadath region, a suburb of the Lebanese capital

Beirut Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint o ...

. He was rushed to the hospital but died there a few hours later. A Lebanese Sunni militant group, " Ahrar al-Sunna Baalbek Brigade" ( ), believed to be a Lebanon-based al Qaeda-linked group from the

Abdullah Azzam Brigades The Abdullah Azzam Brigades ( ar, كتائب عبد الله عزام), or al-Qaeda in Lebanon, is a Sunni Islamist militant group, and al-Qaeda's branch in Lebanon. The group, which began operating in 2009, was founded by Saudi Saleh Al-Qara ...

, claimed responsibility for the attack in a message on

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

. Hezbollah leader Sayyed

stated this group "is not a fictitious name... This group exists ... It has its leadership ... and I am convinced it is linked to Saudi intelligence."John Hall. (4 December 2013)
Israel denies claims of 'professional' murder of Hezbollah commander Hassan al-Laqqis outside his Beirut home
''The Independent''. Retrieved 9 December 2013. Hezbollah has also claimed Israel was responsible for the assassination. Israel has denied any involvement in the matter. His funeral was held in

Baalbek Baalbek (; ar, بَعْلَبَكّ, Baʿlabakk, Syriac-Aramaic: ܒܥܠܒܟ) is a city located east of the Litani River in Lebanon's Beqaa Valley, about northeast of Beirut. It is the capital of Baalbek-Hermel Governorate. In Greek and Roman ...

on 4 December 2013.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Laqqis, Hassan Al 2013 deaths Hezbollah members Assassinated Hezbollah members Lebanese Islamists Lebanese Shia Muslims Syrian civil war spillover in Lebanon Assassinated Lebanese people Year of birth missing

Activities

Assassination and funeral

See also

References