Murder of Hezbollah Chief in Syria Could Spark Tensions in M. East – Margelov

MOSCOW. Feb 14 (Interfax) – The murder of Hezbollah intelligence chief Imad Mughniyeh could aggravate the situation in the Middle East, said Mikhail Margelov, head of the Russian Federation Council’s International Affairs Committee.

“Judging by published reports, the killed man was not an innocent victim. He had been searched for by special and intelligence services in many countries, and by Interpol. The list of terrorism charges [brought against Mughniyeh] is long indeed, But then, Hezbollah does not conceal the ‘combat record’ of the deceased, either,” Margelov said.

“It is difficult to say, however, who stands behind the fatal blast that killed this man. Hezbollah’s claims that Israel does, are traditional in may ways,” Margelov said.

“Mughniyeh has created a lot of enemies just by himself. What is alarming, however, is that the Hezbollah intelligence chief was eliminated just when the Syrian military intelligence advanced accusations against the Lebanese prime minister, claiming that Fuad Siniora has been working for 30 years for [Israel's special service] Mossad,” he said.

Meanwhile, the situation in Lebanon, Israel and Palestine, and in the Middle East as a whole, remains “shaky and vulnerable” to provocations, Margelov said.

Earlier reports have stated that Mughniyeh was killed on Tuesday evening, when a bomb exploded in a residential area in Damascus.

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