A Kuwaiti newspaper reported on Monday that Hizballah intends to respond to last week's killing of its co-founder and operational chief Imad Mughniyah by assassinating Israeli leaders.

The Al-Rai daily newspaper quoted unnamed Hizballah officials as saying the group would take its time to plan and execute a crushing response to the Damascus car bombing that killed the arch-terrorist. Hizballah has publicly accused Israel of being behind Mughniyah's assassination, and the officials cited in the report indicated Israelis of corresponding rank would be targeted as retaliation.

Israel officially maintains that it had nothing to do with the bombing, and the Al-Rai report appeared to lend credibility to that position. According to the newspaper, Mughniyah was killed by Arab agents from "a state bordering Syria" using technology provided by the American military and funding from US-allied Gulf states.

An earlier report in London's Sunday Times cited "informed Israeli sources" as admitting the Israeli Mossad was behind the assassination.

In addition to topping Israel's most wanted list, Mughniyah had for years also had an American bounty on his head.