Talal Hamiyah (; born 1952) is a Lebanese militant leader. A senior military commander in

Hezbollah Hezbollah (; ar, حزب الله ', , also transliterated Hizbullah or Hizballah, among others) is a Lebanese Shia Islamist political party and militant group, led by its Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah since 1992. Hezbollah's paramil ...

since its founding in the early 1980s, he is associated with terror attacks such as the 1994

AMIA bombing The AMIA bombing occurred on 18 July 1994 in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and targeted the Asociación Mutual Israelita Argentina (AMIA; ), a Jewish Community Centre. Executed as a suicidal attack, a bomb-laden van was driven into the AMIA build ...

and 1996

Khobar Towers bombing The Khobar Towers bombing was a terrorist attack on part of a housing complex in the city of Khobar, Saudi Arabia, near the national oil company (Saudi Aramco) headquarters of Dhahran and nearby King Abdulaziz Air Base on 25 June 1996. At that t ...

. In 2017, the U.S. added Hamiyah to its

Rewards for Justice Program The Rewards for Justice Program (RFJ) is the counterterrorism and counterintelligence platform administered by the U.S. Department of State's Diplomatic Security Service agency. The Rewards For Justice program is seeking information leading to th ...

, offering $7 million for information leading to his arrest. He is a senior member of

Jihad Council The Jihad Council of Hezbollah is a council responsible for directing the groups' military and security activities. It also exercises considerable influence over the organization's various civilian branches and maintains ties with external partners ...

Biography

Talal Hussein Hamiyah was born in 1952 in Brital in the

Baalbek-Hermel Governorate french: Baalbek-Hermel , settlement_type = Governorate , image_skyline = Baalbek (4594513263).jpg , image_caption = Baalbek , image_flag = , image_seal = , image_shield = , image_ ...

in the

Bekka Valley The Beqaa Valley ( ar, links=no, وادي البقاع, ', Lebanese ), also transliterated as Bekaa, Biqâ, and Becaa and known in classical antiquity as Coele-Syria, is a fertile valley in eastern Lebanon. It is Lebanon's most importa ...

. He joined

in the early 1980s, shortly after the arrival of Iranian trainers to the region. After the assassination of

Abbas al-Musawi Abbas al-Musawi (; ar, عباس الموسوي; 26 October 1952 – 16 February 1992) was an influential Lebanese Shia cleric, co-founder and Secretary General of Hezbollah. He was killed by the Israel Defense Forces in 1992. Early life ...

, Hamiyah became a close associate of

Imad Mughniyeh Imad Fayez Mughniyeh ( ar, عماد فايز مغنية; 7 December 1962 – 12 February 2008), alias al-Hajj Radwan (), was the founding member of Lebanon's Islamic Jihad Organization and number two in Hezbollah's leadership. Information about ...

. He became known to intelligence officials after he was caught on an intercepted communication celebrating the

, in which 85 people were killed, in Argentina. For many years he was Mugniyeh's deputy, directing the 1996

, in which 19 U.S. soldiers were killed, and attacks against the IDF during the

Second Lebanon War The 2006 Lebanon War, also called the 2006 Israel–Hezbollah War and known in Lebanon as the July War ( ar, حرب تموز, ''Ḥarb Tammūz'') and in Israel as the Second Lebanon War ( he, מלחמת לבנון השנייה, ''Milhemet Leva ...

. He is a veteran figure in Hezbollah's foreign military operations, working alongside Hezbollah military commanders

Mustafa Badreddine Mustafa Badreddine ( ar, مُصْطَفَىٰ بَدْرِ الدِّينِ, Muṣṭafā Badr ad-Dīn‎; 6 April 1961 – 12 May 2016), also known as Mustafa Badr Al Din, Mustafa Amine Badreddine, Mustafa Youssef Badreddine, Sami Issa, and El ...

and Imad Mughniyeh and

IRGC The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC; fa, سپاه پاسداران انقلاب اسلامی, Sepāh-e Pāsdārān-e Enghelāb-e Eslāmi, lit=Army of Guardians of the Islamic Revolution also Sepāh or Pasdaran for short) is a branch o ...

commander

Ahmad Vahidi Ahmad Vahidi ( fa, احمد وحیدی, born 27 June 1958) is an Iranian military commander of the Revolutionary Guards and current Minister of Interior since August 25, 2021. In addition, he is currently member of the Expediency Discernment ...

. Following Mughniyeh's death in 2008, Hamiyah replaced him as Hezbollah's Chief of Staff, and he joined the

alongside his responsibilities leading Hezbollah's foreign operations arm the External Security Organization (Unit 910). After Badreddine was indicted by the

Special Tribunal for Lebanon The Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL), also referred to as the Lebanon Tribunal or the Hariri Tribunal, is a tribunal of international character applying Lebanese criminal law to carry out the investigation and prosecution of those responsibl ...

for charges related to the

assassination of Rafic Hariri On 14 February 2005, former Prime Minister of Lebanon Rafic Hariri was killed along with 21 others in an explosion in Beirut, Lebanon. Explosives equivalent to around 1,000 kilograms (2,200 pounds) of TNT were detonated as his motorcade dr ...

in 2011, Hamiyah reportedly assumed command of Hezbollah's military operations. Following Badreddine's death in 2016, Hamiyah was considered a "rising star" in Hezbollah and someone likely to promoted to a more senior role in the organization. His photo was publicly revealed for the first time in 2016.

Designations

Hamiyah was designated a

Specially Designated Global Terrorist A Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) is a person or entity that has been designated as such by the United States Department of State or the US Department of the Treasury. An SDGT designation is made under authority of US Executive Order ...

by the

US Treasury Department The Department of the Treasury (USDT) is the national treasury and finance department of the federal government of the United States, where it serves as an executive department. The department oversees the Bureau of Engraving and Printing and t ...

on 13 September 2012 due to his alleged role as top military commander. He was designated alongside Badreddine. The basis for their designation was E.O. 13224 for providing support to Hezbollah's terrorist activities in the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Province), East Thrace (Europ ...

and around the world. The U.S. State Department added him to its

(RFJ) on October 10, 2017, offering $7 million for information leading to his arrest. Hamiyah was added to the RFJ program alongside Hezbollah senior military commander

Fuad Shukr Fuad Shukr (; 15 April 1961 – 30 July 2024; sometimes spelled Fouad Shukar and also known by his aliases Al-Hajj Mohsen or Mohsen Shukr) was a Lebanese militant leader who was a senior member of Hezbollah. A member of Hezbollah's founding gen ...

as part of the first rewards for Hezbollah figures in a decade.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hamiyah, Talal Hezbollah members Individuals designated as terrorists by the United States government Lebanese Islamists Lebanese Shia Muslims Shia Islamists People from Baalbek District Living people Rewards for Justice 1952 births