The former head of the Palestinian "Islamic Jihad" movement passed away Saturday night aged 62.
Ramadan Shalah died after a long illness and had been in a coma for more than three years after heart surgery, the movement said. N
No information was disclosed regarding the place he died, however, he is believed to have been in Lebanon.
Shalah was on the US “most wanted list” of terrorist suspects with a $5 million reward for information leading to his arrest or conviction, the Associated Press reported.
He led the Iranian-backed group for over 20 years, after its founder, Fathi Shikaki, was shot dead in Malta in an attack widely attributed to Israel.
In 2018, the group named Shalah’s deputy, Ziad al-Nakhalah, as a new leader.
Palestinian Islamic Jihad has offices in Syria and Lebanon, but most of its activities are focused in the Palestinian enclave of the Gaza Strip.
