(Corrects paragraph 8 spelling to 'Phillip', from 'Philip')

BEIRUT (Reuters) - The killing of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in airstrikes in a Beirut suburb has put the spotlight on the man widely regarded as his heir, Hashem Safieddine. 

The Iran-backed group confirmed that Nasrallah, who led the group for 32 years, had been killed in Friday's strike. It now faces the challenge of choosing a new leader after the heaviest pounding the group has faced in its 42-year-old history.

Here are some facts about Safieddine, who a source in the group said survived the Israeli attacks.

* As head of the executive council, Safieddine oversees Hezbollah's political affairs. He also sits on the Jihad Council, which manages the group's military operations.

* Safieddine is a cousin of Nasrallah and like him is a cleric who wears the black turban denoting descent from Islam's Prophet Mohammed.

* The U.S. State Department designated him a terrorist in 2017 and in June he threatened a big escalation against Israel after the killing of another Hezbollah commander. "Let (the enemy) prepare himself to cry and wail," he said at the funeral.

* Safieddine's public statements often reflect Hezbollah's militant stance and its alignment with the Palestinian cause. 

At a recent event in Dahiyeh, Hezbollah's stronghold in Beirut's southern suburbs, he declared, "Our history, our guns and our rockets are with you," in a show of solidarity with Palestinian fighters.

* Nasrallah "started tailoring positions for him within a variety of different councils within Lebanese Hezbollah. Some of them were more opaque than others. They've had him come, go out and speak," said Phillip Smyth, an expert who studies Iran-backed Shi-ite militias.

* Safieddine's family ties and a physical resemblance to Nasrallah, as well as his religious status as a descendant of Mohammed, would all count in his favour. 

* He has also been vocal in his criticism of U.S. policy. In response to American pressure on Hezbollah, he stated in 2017, "This mentally impeded, crazy U.S. administration headed by Trump will not be able to harm the resistance," asserting that such actions would only strengthen Hezbollah's resolve.

 

(Reporting by Timour Azhari, Angus McDowall and Jonathan Landay; Editing by Michael Georgy, William Maclean)