"The major beneficiary in Mughniyeh's assassination is Israel which succeeded in penetrating a certain security side which, in turn, facilitated this operation" Khaddam said in an interview with the Italian news agency, Aki.

Khaddam said the car bombing that killed Mughnieyh last Tuesday took place in a highly fortified area in Damascus.

"Otherwise, how were the killers able to determine where Mughniyeh was staying and so easily rig a car (with explosives) that led to his liquidation in Damascus Tuesday night?" Khaddam asked.

Khaddam said relations between Tehran and Damascus will certainly be affected by the killing, but added that this would not happen in the short run, but in the long run.

"Mughniyeh is targeted and wanted by Israel and many other countries and he is a high ranking security man. Therefore he is extremely cautious. No one was able to determine where he stayed throughout a quarter of a century," Khaddam went on.

"The big question is how did the killers find out where Imad Mughniyeh was?" Khaddam wondered.

Reports from Damascus say that the scene of the assassination of Mughniyeh was very close to the office of Assef Shawkat , head of Syrian intelligence . Shawkat is the brother-in-law of Syrian president Basher al Assad

Reports from Beirut say Hezbollah has offered to help in the investigation of the assassination along with the Syrians and Iranians , but Syria has refused to allow Hezbollah participation

Reports from Tehran say Mughniyeh was in Damascus at the request of the Iranians to supervise security during the official visit of Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki. Iran according to the reports considered Mughniyeh its own man and considered him the most loyal and trusted member of the Hezbollah organization.

According to intelligence reports, Mughniyah, was considered particularly cautious and suspicious. He surrounded himself with rings of bodyguards and didn't trust anyone, not even his most loyal subordinates. He carried many passports, apparently underwent plastic surgery to change his appearance, never traveled the same route twice, and changed safe houses the way other people change their socks.

Mughniyah was also known for his caution during phone calls. In the 2006 Lebanon War between Hezbollah and Israel he was particularly careful to avoid using phones, and exchanged coded commands and instructions through couriers.

This is why his assassination is a puzzle . Many observers in Lebanon are of the opinion that such a crime could never taken place in Syria without the full knowledge of the Syrian intelligence.

Picture: Syrian president Bashar al Assad ( R) and Former Syrian Vice President Abdul Halim Khaddam

Sources: Naharnet , Ya Libnan