Abu Ali Khalil, the personal escort of the late Hezbollah Secretary-General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, was assassinated in an Israeli airstrike targeting him while he was traveling from Iraq to Tehran.
“الحارس الأمين” يلتحق بالسيد.. استشهاد أبو علي خليل ونجله
المدن/21 حزيران/2025
اُغتيل المرافق الشخصي للأمين العام لحزب الله السابق السيد حسن نصرالله، المعروف باسم أبو علي الخليل، في غارة إسرائيلية استُهدفته خلال توجهه من العراق إلى طهران. ووفق المعلومات الأولية، أدت الغارة على أحد مواقع الحرس الثوري عند الحدود الإيرانية العراقية إلى اغتيال القيادي في حركة “كتائب سيد الشهداء” العراقية حيدر الموسوي وشخصية لبنانية ثالثة، وكان من بين المستهدفين أبو علي الخليل ونجله. وفيما لم تؤكد مصادر رسمية إيرانية أو لبنانية الخبر لغاية الساعة، تداولت صحف إيرانية خبراً مفاده أن “درع السيد الحاج ابو علي خليل، استُشهد برفقة نجله في استهداف صهيوني في الجمهورية الإسلامية”.
لحظة الاستهداف
ولم يتردد الإعلام الإسرائيلي عن نشر مقاطع فيديو تظهر لحظة الاستهداف، في تأكيد على نجاح عملية الاغتيال التي استهدفت أكثر من شخصية عند المعبر الحدودي بين العراق وإيران، حيث زعمت إسرائيل أنه يُستخدم لأغراض لوجستية وعسكرية. في المقابل، تناقل ناشطون عبر مواقع التواصل الاجتماعي مقطع فيديو يوثق لحظة نعي “أبو علي خليل” في العراق، الذي استشهد إلى جانب نجله مهدي. ومع انتشار الخبر، تداول مستخدمون عبر مواقع التواصل أخباراً تفيد أن أبو علي كان متواجداً في العراق وفق ما أظهرت صور انتشرت، قبل أن يتوجه إلى إيران. ومنذ لحظة ظهوره في تشييع السيد نصرالله، تحول أبو علي إلى شخصية معروفة، ومع اغتياله، انتشرت الكثير من الصور للمتابعين معه وخصوصاً في ضريح السيد. وكان لافتاً مع نقله أحد الأشخاص عنه إنه عندما التقاه قبل حوالى الشهر قال أبو علي: “أنا الآن غير مقتنع أنني لا زلت على قيادة الحياة”، في إشارة على أنه كان يجب أن يسشتهد إلى جانب السيد نصرالله.
من هو أبو علي؟
وأبو علي الخليل، اسمه الحقيقي حسين الخليل، من مواليد برج البراجنة، بيروت. انضم إلى حزب الله منذ تأسيسه في بدايات الثمانينيات، ويُقال أنه عين مرافقاً للسيد منذ ذلك الحين، ورافقه خصوصاً في إطلالاته العلنية أمام الجمهور. واكتسب أبو علي خليل، شعبية واسعة لدى جمهور حزب الله، وخصوصاً بعد ظهوره في تشييع الأمين العام السابق لحزب الله السيد حسن نصرالله، فحصل على لقب “درع السيد” الذي ظهر أثناء التشييع وهو يحمي نعش السيد عند مرور الطائرات الإسرائيلية، عندما قام بإحكام قبضته على النعش فوراً محاولا أن يحميه، كما كان يقترب من نصرالله عندما كان يحرسه وهو على قيد الحياة. وبعد ظهوره في تشييع السيد، تم تعيينه مسؤولاً عن حماية ضريح السيد نصرالله.
Abu Ali Khalil, the personal escort of the late Hezbollah Secretary-General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, was assassinated in an Israeli airstrike targeting him while he was traveling from Iraq to Tehran.
Al-Modon/June 21, 2025 ) (translated from Arbic freely By Elias Bejjani)
Abu Ali Khalil, the personal escort of the late Hezbollah Secretary-General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, was assassinated in an Israeli airstrike targeting him while he was traveling from Iraq to Tehran. Initial reports indicate the strike, which hit a Revolutionary Guard site on the Iran-Iraq border, also killed Haydar al-Mousawi, a leader in the Iraqi “Kata’ib Sayyid al-Shuhada” movement, and a third Lebanese individual. Among those targeted were Abu Ali Khalil and his son. While official Iranian or Lebanese sources have not yet confirmed the news, Iranian newspapers circulated reports stating that “the Shield of Sayyed, Haj Abu Ali Khalil, was martyred along with his son in a Zionist targeting in the Islamic Republic.”
Moment of the Targeting
Israeli media quickly published video clips showing the moment of the targeting, confirming the success of the assassination operation that struck multiple individuals at the border crossing between Iraq and Iran, which Israel claimed was used for logistical and military purposes. Conversely, activists on social media shared a video documenting the moment of mourning for “Abu Ali Khalil” in Iraq, who was martyred alongside his son, Mahdi. With the news spreading, social media users circulated reports indicating that Abu Ali had been in Iraq, as evidenced by circulating photos, before heading to Iran. Since his appearance at Sayyed Nasrallah’s funeral, Abu Ali had become a well-known figure. Following his assassination, many photos of him with his followers circulated, especially at the Sayyed’s shrine. It was notably reported by someone who met him about a month prior that Abu Ali had said, “I am now unconvinced that I am still in command of life,” suggesting he believed he should have been martyred alongside Sayyed Nasrallah.
Who Was Abu Ali?
Abu Ali Khalil, whose real name was Hussein Khalil, was born in Bourj el-Barajneh, Beirut. He joined Hezbollah in the early 1980s since its establishment. It is said that he was appointed as the Sayyed’s escort from then on, accompanying him especially during his public appearances. Abu Ali Khalil gained widespread popularity among Hezbollah’s supporters, particularly after his appearance at the funeral of the late Hezbollah Secretary-General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah. He earned the title “The Sayyed’s Shield” for his actions during the funeral, when he was seen protecting the Sayyed’s coffin as Israeli planes flew overhead. He immediately tightened his grip on the coffin, trying to shield it, just as he used to stay close to Nasrallah when guarding him during his lifetime. After his appearance at the Sayyed’s funeral, he was appointed head of security for Sayyed Nasrallah’s shrine.
Ex-Bodyguard of Nasrallah Killed in Israeli Strike in Iran
This is Beirut/AFP /June 21, 2025
A former bodyguard for Hassan Nasrallah, the slain leader of Lebanon’s Hezbollah, was killed Saturday in an Israeli strike in Iran, according to an official from the Tehran-backed militant group. Hussein Khalil, commonly known as Abu Ali and nicknamed Nasrallah’s “shield”, was killed in Iran near the Iraqi border, the Hezbollah official told AFP on condition of anonymity. An Iraqi border guard officer also told AFP that Khalil and a member of an Iraqi armed group were killed by “an Israeli drone strike” shortly after crossing into Iran. The Iraqi group, the Sayyed al-Shuhada Brigades, later confirmed that its security unit commander, Haider al-Moussawi, was killed in the “Zionist attack,” along with Khalil and his son, Mahdi Khalil. Khalil had accompanied Nasrallah during his rare public appearances for many years. The two men were also related by marriage, with one of Khalil’s sons married to a granddaughter of Nasrallah. During Nasrallah’s funeral in February, held nearly five months after his death, Khalil was seen standing atop the vehicle carrying the slain leader’s body.
