Abbas al-Musawi (/əˈbɑːs əlmuːˈsɑːwi/ ə-BAHSS əl-moo-SAH-wee; Arabic: عباس الموسوي; 26 October 1952 – 16 February 1992) was a Lebanese Shia cleric who served as the second secretary-general of Hezbollah from 1991 until his assassination by Israel in 1992.

[1] Al-Musawi was a student, at the hawza in Najaf, of Muhammad Baqir al-Sadr, an influential Shi'a cleric, philosopher, political leader, and founder of the Da'wa Party of Iraq.

[4][5][6][7] According to some reports (while others attribute the act to Subhi al-Tufayli), al-Musawi was responsible for the abduction of Lt. Col William Higgins while commander of Hezbollah's Islamic Resistance (military wing).

[14] Israel said the attack had been planned as an assassination attempt in retaliation for the kidnapping and death of missing Israeli servicemen in 1986 and the abduction of US Marine and UN peace-keeping officer William R. Higgins in 1988.

[15] Later it was revealed by Dieter Bednarz and Ronen Bergman that the original plan of Israel had been just to abduct al Musawi to ensure the release of Israeli prisoners.