Photo of Hezbollah's rising star uncovered
Talal Hamia, head of Unit 910, Hezbollah's foreign operations unit, was published for first time; he is expected to be promoted as a result of the killing of Mustafa Badr al-Din.
Hamia was recently mentioned as someone who is likely to be promoted to a more central role following the death of the senior Hezbollah leader Mustafa Badr al-Din in Damascus .
It was Ronen Solomon, the intelligence analyst for Intelli Times which closely monitors Hezbollah, who came upon the picture.
Hamia, who comes from Baalbek in Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley, is considered one of the veteran commanders of Hezbollah’s military wing. According to reports in recent years, based on intelligence sources, he in effect replaced Badr al-Din after the International Court included the latter on the indictment regarding the murder of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.
Similar to Badr al-Din, Hamia is also a mysterious figure. His name has been linked to the planning of terrorist attacks perpetrated by Hezbollah abroad. In 2012, the US Treasury Department placed sanctions on him.
In a recent publication of Asharq Al-Awsat, an Arabic language newspaper published in London, reported the person to replace Badr al-Din - who served as a senior figure in Hezbollah’s military wing and the commander of the terrorist organization in Syria - is Mustafa Mughniyeh, Imad Mughniyeh’s eldest son, who was killed Damascus in 2008. But the credibility of the report is in doubt as the newspaper, owned by Saudi Arabia, is known for its biased coverage against Iran and Hezbollah. virtue of being owned by a Saudi.
At the same time, the Special Tribunal for Lebanon - the international court dealing with the assassination of former Lebanese President Rafik Hariri in 2005 - does not accept the assertion that Badr al-Din is involved in the former’s assassination. Therefore the trial is taking its usual course.
