Moghnieh hometown remembers legend with pride
Anger swept the hometown of martyr Imad Moghnieh's hometown Tair Debba, as residents of Tair Debba, 90 kilometers south of Beirut, mourned their elusive "legend" on Wednesday.
A coffin holding Moghnieh's body was placed on a podium in Hizbullah's stronghold in Beirut's southern suburbs, where the group planned a memorial service for the "martyr" on Thursday.
"He was a legend. We always heard of his victories against 'Israel' although we never knew him personally," said Ahmad, a 22-year-old man, as he climbed an electricity pole to put up a black flag.
"Today each one of us has become an Imad Moghnieh" against "Israel", he said.
"We were shocked to learn he was killed in Syria. We thought he was safe there," Moghnieh's 51-year-old aunt Fayza told AFP as she stood outside the abandoned family home near the village cemetery.
"He left the village a long time ago, shuttling between Syria and Iran, and for years I did not see him. But two years ago he snuck in after his mother passed away to pay his respects," she said.
According to several reports, Moghnieh eluded his enemies by undergoing plastic surgery to alter his features.
"We heard that he underwent plastic surgery because the intelligence services of the whole world were after him," said Ahmad.
Not a single picture of Moghnieh could be seen in Tair Debba, although the village was decked with portraits of his two brothers Fouad and Jihad, who were also killed in car bombings blamed on "Israel".
Black flags and the yellow banners of Hizbullah fluttered in the village, which resounded with verses of the Koran.
"We will not cry and we will teach our children ... even the youngest ones how to fight 'Israel' and never surrender," said Ramzieh Nanouh, a resident of Tair Debba, as she was hanging banners in support of Hizbullah in the village square.
"Imad will be a role model to our children and to all the younger generations," she told The Daily Star.
A somber mood also took hold of the Ruweiss district of Beirut's southern suburbs, where Hizbullah leaders gathered under heavy security to receive condolences and pay tribute to Moghnieh.
"The martyr, may his soul rest in peace, had been a target for the Zionists for more than 20 years," and has joined the "divine legion of honor" of fighters who died confronting "Israel", a statement said.
A coffin holding Moghnieh's body was placed on a podium in Hizbullah's stronghold in Beirut's southern suburbs, where the group planned a memorial service for the "martyr" on Thursday.
"He was a legend. We always heard of his victories against 'Israel' although we never knew him personally," said Ahmad, a 22-year-old man, as he climbed an electricity pole to put up a black flag.
"Today each one of us has become an Imad Moghnieh" against "Israel", he said.
"We were shocked to learn he was killed in Syria. We thought he was safe there," Moghnieh's 51-year-old aunt Fayza told AFP as she stood outside the abandoned family home near the village cemetery.
"He left the village a long time ago, shuttling between Syria and Iran, and for years I did not see him. But two years ago he snuck in after his mother passed away to pay his respects," she said.
According to several reports, Moghnieh eluded his enemies by undergoing plastic surgery to alter his features.
"We heard that he underwent plastic surgery because the intelligence services of the whole world were after him," said Ahmad.
Not a single picture of Moghnieh could be seen in Tair Debba, although the village was decked with portraits of his two brothers Fouad and Jihad, who were also killed in car bombings blamed on "Israel".
Black flags and the yellow banners of Hizbullah fluttered in the village, which resounded with verses of the Koran.
"We will not cry and we will teach our children ... even the youngest ones how to fight 'Israel' and never surrender," said Ramzieh Nanouh, a resident of Tair Debba, as she was hanging banners in support of Hizbullah in the village square.
"Imad will be a role model to our children and to all the younger generations," she told The Daily Star.
A somber mood also took hold of the Ruweiss district of Beirut's southern suburbs, where Hizbullah leaders gathered under heavy security to receive condolences and pay tribute to Moghnieh.
"The martyr, may his soul rest in peace, had been a target for the Zionists for more than 20 years," and has joined the "divine legion of honor" of fighters who died confronting "Israel", a statement said.
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