The body of prominent Hezbollah critic, Lokman Slim, was found by Lebanese security forces on Thursday morning. Slim had been shot dead. A forensic coroner said Slim had taken four bullets to the head and one to his back.

Al Arabiya reports that he had gone missing in an area of Lebanon  controlled by Hezbollah.

Slim’s friend, and American University in Beirut Professor, Makram Rabah, said, “We found him, he was shot in the head apparently and his rental car was found in Nabatiyeh.” He added, Rabah said, “Lokman is an outspoken voice against Hezbollah and he went missing deep in the region and their areas of control and this is the technique they’ve used before.”

His family said he had been missing since late Wednesday night into Thursday morning, after visiting a friend who lived in a village in Lebanon’s southern region. Slim’s sister Rasha al-Ameer, tweeted, “My brother Lokman Slim left Nihaal-Janoub six hours ago heading back to Beirut and he has not yet returned. He is not answering his phone. There is no trace of him in hospitals.” She said they were able to track his phone to a location where he was last seen in the south of the country.

Al Arabiyya reports that, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah’s son Jawad tweeted in Arabic, following the discovery of slims body: “Loss of some is in reality an unexpected gain and kindness for others.” He later deleted the tweet, claiming it was personal and not about the death of the activist.

Slim was a vocal critic of Hezbollah, in his capacity as a journalist, political analyst and activist. Al Arabiyya reports that he had also made several documentary films with his wife Monika Borgmann. It was she who had sounded the alarm when her husband went missing.

Umm Muhammed Umar