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Source: http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_opinion.php?id=16089
A Severe Blow for Hizbullah and Iran
(Israel Hayom) Eyal Zisser - The assassination of top Hizbullah commander Mustafa Badreddine, in an artillery strike carried out by Syrian rebels on his headquarters near the Damascus airport, is another severe blow for Hizbullah and its Iranian patron. That the rebels - who have been bombed to shreds by Russian planes for over half a year now - were able to kill the man who many considered Hizbullah's "chief of staff" is not just a matter of luck. It illustrates that the rebels are far from surrendering or collapsing. Badreddine led the operation in 2005 to assassinate Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, as well as a series of terrorist attacks on Israeli targets including the attack in 2012 in Burgas, Bulgaria. Iranian and Hizbullah fighters have suffered multiple defeats and have sustained unprecedented casualties in ground battles near Aleppo in recent weeks. Iranian troops and Hizbullah fighters have also been taken prisoner, and photos and video footage of their captivity have spread online. The writer, Vice Rector at Tel Aviv University, is former director of its Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African Studies.