Fuad Shukr (Arabic: فؤاد شكر, born 1962), sometimes spelled Fouad Shukar, also known as Al-Hajj Mohsen or Mohsen Shukr,[1] is a senior member of Lebanese militant organization Hezbollah. A member of Hezbollah's founding generation, Shukr has been a senior military leader in the organization since the early 1980s. For over four decades, he has been one of the group's leading military figures and is a military advisor to its leader Hassan Nasrallah.
Fuad Shukr | |
|---|---|
فؤاد شكر | |
 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1962 (age 61–62) Al-Nabi Shayth, Lebanon |
| Political party | Hezbollah |
Early life
Shukr was born in 1962 in the village of Al-Nabi Shayth, in the Baalbek District of Lebanon, which was also the birthplace of Hezbollah co-founder Abbas al-Musawi. After Hezbollah's establishment, the village became one of its central bases of power. The Shukr clan's house in Al-Nabi Shayth is believed to be the last known location of Ron Arad in May 1988. Shukr received his military education at Imam Hossein University in Tehran.[2]
Hezbollah activities
Since Hezbollah's founding by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in the 1980s, Shukr has been one of its leading military figures. He was part of the group's founding generation and its most senior military commander, serving as an advisor on military operations to Hezbollah's leader Hassan Nasrallah.[3] The militant organization's top military commander in southern Lebanon, he is on the Jihad Council, where his role is to serve as an advisor to Hezbollah's leadership on all matters related to military operations, including training with the IRGC's Quds Force.[2]
A close associate of Imad Mughniyeh, Mustafa Badreddine, and Mustafa Shahada, Shukr fought against Israeli troops after Israel's invasion of Lebanon in 1982.[3] Shukr participated in the planning and execution of the 1983 Beirut barracks bombings, which resulted in the deaths of 307 people, including 241 U.S. soldiers.[2][3]
According to U.S. intelligence, Shukr was sent to Tehran in 1994 to handle a shipment of Stinger missiles from Iran. By the outbreak of the Syrian Civil War, Shukr was Hezbollah's military commander in southern Lebanon, its most important sector.[2]
According to some reports, in 2016, Shukr replaced Badreddine as Hezbollah's military commander, after Badreddine was killed during Hezbollah's intervention in the Syrian Civil War.[4]
The U.S. Department of State designed Shukr as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist in 2013 and to its Rewards for Justice Program (RFJ) on October 10, 2017, offering $5 million for information leading to his arrest. Shukr was added to the RFJ program alongsideide Hezbollah's head of foreign operations Talal Hamiyah as part of the first rewards for Hezbollah figures in a decade.[5]
According to the IDF, Shukr was a leader in Hezbollah's advanced weaponry program, including its precision-guided missiles, cruise missiles, and long-range rockets.[6][3]
Possible death
On July 30, 2024, Shukr was targeted in an Israeli airstrike in response to his involvement in a rocket attack on Majdal Shams which killed 12 Druze children.[7][8][9] Hezbollah claimed he is alive.[1]
References
- ^ a b https://english.alarabiya.net/News/middle-east/2024/07/30/loud-blast-heard-in-beirut-witness.
{{cite news}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ^ a b c d "5 מיליון דולר על ראשו: זה בכיר חיזבאללה פואד שוכר שחוסל בביירות". Ynet. 2024-07-30. Retrieved 31 July 2024.
- ^ a b c d "What to know about top Hezbollah commander targeted by Israel in Beirut". Reuters. 2024-07-30. Retrieved 30 July 2024.
- ^ "Fu'ad Shukr". Counter Extremism Project. Retrieved 2024-07-30.
- ^ "US offers rewards forTalal Hamiyah and Fuad Shukr". Al Jazeera English. 2017-10-11. Retrieved 30 July 2024.
- ^ Blumenthal, Itay (2019-08-29). "נחשף פרויקט דיוק הטילים של איראן וחיזבאללה | צה"ל מסמן את האחראים". Ynet (in Hebrew). Retrieved 2024-07-30.
- ^ https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/idf-says-senior-hezbollah-commander-fuad-shukr-was-killed-in-beirut-airstrike/
- ^ "Targeted Hezbollah commander named as Fuad Shukr, head of precision missile project who is wanted by US". Times of Israel.
- ^ "IDF target Hezbollah commander responsible for Majdal Shams attack". Ynet. 2024-07-30. Retrieved 2024-07-30.