Above: Imad Mughniyeh

According to Hezbollah station Al-Manar, Imad Mughniyeh — a reputed role model for Osama bin Laden — died in an explosion in a residential section of the Syrian capital Damascus. Mughniyeh — who had been eluding capture for decades — is considered as the main suspect in some of the deadliest terrorist attacks of the last 25 years.

U.S. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack called him “a cold-blooded killer, a mass murderer and a terrorist who was responsible for [the death of] countless lives.”

“If this information proves true, it would be good news in the ongoing fight against terrorism as one major terrorist will no longer be around to commit additional acts of terror against Americans and others in the world,” FBI Agent Richard Kolko said. The FBI is still awaiting official details on his death.

Mughniyeh is among the FBI’s Most Wanted Terrorists. He is believed to be behind two separate Beirut bombings in 1983 — the U.S. Embassy that killed 63 and the truck bombing of a U.S. Marine barracks that killed 241. His efforts proved to be the main reason why the U.S. military withdrew from Lebanon. According to CNN, before 9/11, he was blamed for the deaths of more Americans around the world than any other terrorist. The CNN report added that Mughniyeh had been involved in training Iraqi terrorists and Shiite militia, including forces of Moqtada al Sadr’s army. He was involved in providing 50 tons of weapons to Palestinian terrorists in 2002.

Hezbollah blames Israel for the killing, but Israeli officials denied involvement. “Israel rejects the attempt by terrorist elements to ascribe to it any involvement whatsoever in this incident,” Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said.