Hezbollah's initial response to Fuad Shukr's assassination

The Hezbollah terror group responded for the first time to the elimination of its number two, Fuad Shukr "Sayyid Muhsan," near Beirut, Lebanon.

In a Wednesday morning statement, the terror group said that "Haj Muhsan was in the building struck; we are working to remove the rubble. We are waiting for results regarding his fate."

As the Head of Hezbollah's Strategic Unit, Fuad was responsible for the majority of Hezbollah's most advanced weaponry, including precise-guided missiles, cruise missiles, anti-ship missiles, long-range rockets, and UAVs. He was responsible for force build-up, planning, and execution of terror attacks against the State of Israel.

Fuad joined the Hezbollah terrorist organization in 1985 and has since held a number of senior positions. As part of his role, he was a member of the Jihad Council - Hezbollah's most senior military forum.

In the 1990s, Fuad advanced numerous attacks against the IDF and the South Lebanon Army. In 2000, he was directly involved in the abduction of the bodies of three IDF soldiers - SSGT Benyamin Avraham, SSGT Adi Avitan, and SSGT Omar Sawaid - who were killed by Hezbollah terrorists while patrolling the security fence adjacent to Har Dov. Since then, he has planned and directed numerous terror attacks against innocent civilians.

Earlier on Tuesday, contradictory reports emerged as to whether Shukr survived or not, with the most recent reports stating that he was eliminated.

Shukr had also played a role in the 1983 bombing of the US army barracks in Beirut in which 241 American servicemen were killed. The US had placed a $5 million bounty on his head.

The Al Arabiya and Al Hadath Arabic news stations reported that Shukr was eliminated and that his body is being held in a secure hospital, contradicting earlier reports that he had left before the air strike.