Mustafa Badr Al Din

Mustafa Badr Al Din
مصطفى بدر الدين
Born 6 April 1961
Beirut, Lebanon
Nationality Lebanese
Years active 1980s–present
Parent(s) Amine Badreddine and Fatima Jezeini

Mustafa Badr Al Din, Arabic: مصطفى بدر الدين‎ also known as Mustafa Amine Badreddine, Mustafa Youssef Badreddine, Sami Issa and Elias Fouad Saab,[1] (born 6 April 1961) is military leader of Hezbollah and both the cousin and brother-in-law of late Imad Mugniyah.[2][3][4]

Early life

Badr Al Din was born on 6 April 1961 in Al Ghobeiry, Beirut.[1][4] His parents are Amine Badreddine and Fatima Jezeini.[1]

Early activities and Hezbollah

Until 1982, Al Din, like Mugniyeh, was part of Fatah's Force 17 in Beirut.[5] Later they both joined Hezbollah.[5] Al Din was among Hezbollah's bomb makers.<ref name=O'Hern2012>Steven O'Hern (31 October 2012). Iran's Revolutionary Guard: The Threat that Grows While America Sleeps. Potomac Books, Inc. p. 213. ISBN 978-1-59797-701-2. Retrieved 15 January 2013.</ref>

Al Din is a member of the Shura council for Hezbollah[6] and the head of the unit for overseas operations, Hezbollah's external operations branch.[4][5][7] His aide in this post is Abdul Hadi Hammade, who previously commanded Hezbollah's secret Position 71.[8] Prior to his appointment to this post in 2009, replacing Imad Mughniyah,[9][10] Al Din served as the commander of Hezbollah's military arm[11] and an advisor to Hezbollah's Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah.[8] Al Din's appointment as the head of overseas operation was not supported by deputy general secretary of Hezbollah, Naim Qassem.[12] He is also Nasrallah's chief of intelligence.[13]

Alleged activities

1983 Kuwait bombings

Al Din entered Kuwait in 1983 on a Lebanese passport under the name of Elias Saab,[14] or Elias Al Saab.[15] He was a member of the militant group Dawa 17[16] or Al Dawa.[17] He was arrested in Kuwait together with 17 suspects one month after seven blasts in the country in a single day on 13 December 1983, including the truck bombings of the US and French embassies in Kuwait City.[15][18] The attacks left nearly five people dead and 86 injured.[19] On the other hand, there is another report giving the death toll as 63.[15] However, it is also argued that the use of the group's name in these events was a deception to hide the real groups that perpetrated these attacks.[20] In 1985, Al Din also ordered the assassination of Kuwait emir, but the attempt failed.[21]

As a result of the 16-week trials,[18] he was sentenced to death for masterminding the attacks.[14][22][23][24] Since his leg had been amputated, he was with a wooden leg in the jail.[15] In the court, Al Din told the prosecutor that he did not recognize the sovereignty of Kuwait.[15]

In order to force the authorities to release Al Din and others, Hezbollah members headed by Imad Mugniyed kidnapped at least four Western citizens in Lebanon.[25][26] Mugniyeh also hijacked a Kuwait Airways Corporation (KAC) plane in Bangkok in 1988, demanding the release of him and other detainees.[15][27]

Al Din escaped from the prison in 1990 during the invasion of Kuwait[6][28] or the Iraqis released the imprisoned Al Din and the others.[18]

Naharnet argues that after that event Al Din managed to flee to Iran.[4] Later, the Iran's Revolutionary Guard returned him to Beirut.[4] Ya Libnan reported that he had been behind the bombing of the US Marine Corps barracks in Lebanon in 1983, killing 241 marines.[29]

Hariri assassination

The Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) declared in its report dated June 2011 that Al Din and other three people were behind the assassination of former Lebanon prime minister Rafiq Hariri.[1][30][31] The names of four indicted suspects were officially announced on 29 July 2011.[32]

Al Din was specifically accused of planning and supervising the assassination by the tribunal.[33] In addition, he was described by the STL as the main organizator of the operation.[34] Accusations about him and other three Hezbollah members were based on mobile phone evidence.[35] Hasan Nasrallah threatened the tribunal upon its declaration.[13] Since then, Al Din and the others have disappeared and allegedly fled to Iran.[13] On 1 February 2012, the Special Tribune for Lebanon decided to try him in absentia.[1] The trial would begin in March 2013, but it was postponed and no date was specified.[36]

Designation

Al Din and Talal Hamiyah were put to the list of Specially Designated Global Terrorists by the US Treasury Department on 13 September 2012 due to his alleged role as top military commander, replacing Mugniyah who died in 2008.[2][37] The basis for their designation was E.O. 13224 for providing support to Hezbollah’s terrorist activities in the Middle East and around the world.[38]

Personal life

Al Din's sister Saada Badr Al Din married her cousin, Imad Mugniyah in 1983.[39]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 "Mustafa Amine Badreddine". Special Tribune for Lebanon. Retrieved 15 September 2012.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Roggio, Bill (14 September 2012). "US adds 2 senior Hezbollah military leaders to terror list". Long War Journal. Retrieved 15 September 2012.
  3. ↑ Follath, Erich (23 May 2009). "New Evidence Points to Hezbollah in Hariri Murder". Der Spiegel. Retrieved 15 September 2012.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 "Mustafa Badreddine, Salim Ayyash, Hassan Aneissy, Assad Sabra among Accused in Hariri Arrest Warrants". Naharnet. 30 June 2011. Retrieved 7 October 2012.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 "Hezbollah: Portrait of a Terrorist Organization". The Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center. 18 December 2012. Retrieved 12 January 2013.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 "Mustafa Badr Al Din". All Voices. Retrieved 15 September 2012.
  7. ↑ Segev, Samuel (5 July 2011). "Lebanese factions form battle lines". Winnipeg Free Press (Tel Aviv). Retrieved 24 October 2012.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Melman, Yossi (18 June 2009). "Inside Intel / Why sell arms when you can play golf?". Haaretz. Retrieved 24 October 2012.
  9. ↑ Glass, Charles (2 July 2011). "For Lebanon, the truth is a poisoned chalice". The National. Retrieved 9 April 2013.
  10. ↑ Matthew, Levitt (January 2013). "Hizballah and the Qods Force in Iran’s shadow war with the West" (Policy Focus (No. 123)). The Washington Institute for Near East Policy. Retrieved 5 August 2013.
  11. ↑ Casey L. Addis; Christopher M. Blanchard (8 October 2010). "Hezbollah: Background and Issues for Congress". Congressional Research Service. Retrieved 31 December 2012.
  12. ↑ Barel, Zvi (25 February 2013). "Who's breathing down Hezbollah leader's neck?". Haaretz. Retrieved 22 March 2013.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 Follath, Erich (5 November 2012). "Was Murdered Intelligence Chief a Hero or Double Agent?". Der Spiegel. Retrieved 5 November 2012.
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 "Lebanon Braces for Hezbollah Backlash Over Hariri Case". Arab Times (Kuwait City). 1 July 2011. Retrieved 7 October 2012.
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 15.3 15.4 15.5 "Top suspect in Hariri murder familiar name in Kuwait jail". Lebanonwire. 2 July 2011. Retrieved 4 August 2013.
  16. ↑ McCarthy, Andrew C. (8 December 2006). "Negotiate with Iran?". National Review Online. Retrieved 16 December 2012.
  17. ↑ Caudill, Shannon W. (2008). "Hizballah Rising: Iran’s Proxy Warriors". IFQ 29. Retrieved 12 January 2013.
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 18.2 "Terrorist attacks on America". PBS. Retrieved 16 December 2012.
  19. ↑ "Shiite leader demands release of 15". Times Daily (Beirut). AP. 13 August 1990. Retrieved 16 December 2012.
  20. ↑ Samii, A. William (22 June 2003). "Shia political alternatives in postwar Iraq". Middle East Policy. Retrieved 25 March 2013.
  21. ↑ Benari, Elad (30 July 2010). "Report: Hizbullah Activist Behind Hariri Assassination". Arutz Sheva 7. Retrieved 6 March 2013.
  22. ↑ Bassem Mroue; Elizabeth A. Kennedy (30 June 2011). "Hezbollah figure eyed in Hariri killing". The Washington Times. AP. Retrieved 7 October 2012.
  23. ↑ Tristam, Pierre (4 December 2008). "When Terry Anderson Was Released After 2,454 Days As Hezbollah's Hostage". About.com. Retrieved 7 October 2012.
  24. ↑ "Court publishes names of 4 suspects in Hariri case". USA Today. AP. 29 July 2011. Retrieved 7 November 2012.
  25. ↑ Murphy, Caryle (24 July 1990). "Bombs, Hostages: A Family Link". The Washington Post. Retrieved 16 December 2012.
  26. ↑ Schbley, Ayla Hammond (2000). "Torn Between God, Family, and Money: The Changing Profile of Lebanon's Religious Terrorists". Studies in Conflict & Terrorism 23 (3): 175–196. doi:10.1080/105761000412760. Retrieved 16 January 2013.
  27. ↑ Mark Ensalaco (2008). Middle Eastern Terrorism: From Black September to September 11. University of Pennsylvania Press. p. 152. ISBN 978-0-8122-4046-7. Retrieved 7 March 2013.
  28. ↑ "Escaped Militant Has Role in Hostage Talks". The New York Times (Beirut). 16 October 1991. Retrieved 7 November 2012.
  29. ↑ "Mustafa Badreddine is main Hezbollah suspect in Hariri’s murder". Ya Libnan. 30 June 2011. Retrieved 7 October 2012.
  30. ↑ "Report: Friday blast in Beirut aimed at Nasrallah". Albawaba. 2 August 2011. Retrieved 15 September 2012.
  31. ↑ Bakri, Nada (30 June 2011). "Tribunal Names 4 in ’05 Killing of Lebanese Leader". The New York Times (Beirut). Retrieved 7 October 2012.
  32. ↑ "UN names Hezbollah men in Rafik Hariri case". BBC. 29 July 2011. Retrieved 4 March 2013.
  33. ↑ Nahmias, Roee (30 June 2011). "Hezbollah members indicted in Hariri murder". YNet News. Retrieved 7 November 2012.
  34. ↑ "Rafik Hariri murder: Suspects to be tried in absentia". BBC. 2 February 2012. Retrieved 17 March 2013.
  35. ↑ "Hezbollah leader Nasrallah rejects Hariri indictments". BBC. 3 July 2011. Retrieved 16 December 2012.
  36. ↑ "Hariri slaying trial postponed at UN-backed court". UT San Diego. AP. 21 February 2013. Retrieved 13 March 2013.
  37. ↑ "Treasury Designates Hizballah Leadership" (Press Release). US Department of the Treasury. 13 September 2012. Retrieved 15 September 2012.
  38. ↑ "U.S. Treasury Sanctions Hizballah Leadership". US Embassy. 13 September 2013. Retrieved 15 January 2013.
  39. ↑ "Car bomb kills Imad Mugniyah, "The Fox"". Nation Special. 17 February 2008. Retrieved 24 October 2012.