Who was Imad Mughniyeh? Details explored ahead of Showtime's Ghosts of Beirut

The hair-raising manhunt story of Imad Mughniyeh is all set to be explored in the brand-new four-part and spy thriller drama series, Ghosts of Beirut. The series will make its debut exclusively on Showtime Channel, this Sunday, May 21, 2023, at 10 pm ET. Lior Raz and Avi Issacharoff have served as creators of the series, while Greg Barker has acted as the director.

The list of writers for the series includes Joëlle Touma and Greg Barker, among with creators Issacharoff and Raz. The official synopsis for Ghosts of Beirut, given by Showtime, reads as follows:

"Four-part limited series based on one of the most extraordinary real-life espionage stories of our time: the manhunt for Imad Mughniyeh, the elusive terrorist mastermind who outwitted his adversaries for over two decades. Based on a true story, Mugniyeh took terrorism to deadly new levels, creating public martyrs out of anonymous suicide bombers. As CIA and Mossad operatives were haunted by Imad’s actions, they unexpectedly join forces in a high-stakes international chase to finally find and take down the man known as “the ghost.”"

Ever since the official trailer for Ghosts of Beirut was released by Showtime, the audience has been quite curious to learn all about Imad Mughniyeh. Reportedly, Mughniyeh was one of the leaders of Hezbollah and one of the founders of Lebanon's Islamic Jihad Organization.

---

Ghosts of Beirut: Imad Mughniyeh was one of the founding members of the Islamic Jihad Organization

A still of Imad Mughniyeh (Image Via Getty Images)

Although there is limited information about Imad Mughniyeh, it is believed that the man was the chief of staff of Hezbollah, a Lebanese Shia Islamist militant group and political party. He was also one of the 1980s founding members of Hezbollah and the Islamic Jihad Organization of Lebanon. He was known for overseeing the intelligence, military and security apparatuses of Hezbollah.

Mughniyeh was accused of being personally and directly associated with several terrifying terrorist attacks which resulted in an array of unthinkable murders, suicide bombings, assassinations and kidnappings.

The man was allegedly involved in the 1983 US embassy bombings and Beirut barracks bombing. The terrible incidents took the lives of more than 350 individuals.

Mughniyeh was also said to be directly connected with the abduction of numerous foreigners in 1980s Lebanon.

He was reportedly the mastermind behind the Israeli embassy attack in Buenos Aires, the capital of Argentina, that took place in 1992 and killed approximately 29 civilians and injured 242 civilians.

The United States intelligence officials accused him of killing more citizens of the U.S. than any other individual before the September 11 attacks.

His main purpose was considered to be completely removing and eliminating the United States military presence in the 1980s Lebanon. Due to his vanishing skills, he was infamously called an ‘untraceable ghost’.

---

What happened to Imad Mughniyeh?

A still from Ghosts of Beirut (Image Via Showtime/YouTube)

Mughniyeh was reportedly included in the list of the European Union's wanted terrorists. He was also on the long list of the FBI's Most Wanted Terrorists.

A bounty of a total of US$ 5 million was in his name. However, in the Middle East and Lebanon, which are his home countries, he was considered a hero and a national symbol.

On February 12, 2004, the sinister man was murdered in a car bomb as a part of a joint CIA – Mossad operation in the Kafr Sousa neighbourhood of Damascus, Syria.

---

Don't forget to watch Ghosts of Beirut, which arrives on Sunday, May 21, 2023, at 10 pm ET, on Showtime Channel.