Talal Hamieh, also known as Talal Hosni Hamieh, Ismat Mazraani or Abu Jaafar, is a shadowy figure within Hezbollah. He is considered part of the group’s first generation, having joined in the mid-1980s. Hamieh is the head of Hezbollah’s External Security Organization (ESO), also known as Unit 910, which is responsible for overseeing covert operations worldwide.
He is one of the few who had direct contact with Hassan Nasrallah, Hezbollah’s secretary-general, who was killed on September 27, 2024 in a strike on the party's headquarters in the southern suburbs of Beirut. Hamieh is also believed to have worked closely with Qasem Soleimani, the commander of Iran’s Quds Force, who was assassinated in a US drone strike near Baghdad International Airport on January 3, 2020.
Starting in the 1990s, Hamieh directed Hezbollah’s external operations unit, which, under Nasrallah’s orders, conducted armed operations outside Lebanon, particularly against Western targets and individuals deemed threats to Hezbollah. One notable attack attributed to the ESO is the March 17, 1992 bombing of the Israeli Embassy in Argentina, carried out in retaliation for the assassination of Hezbollah’s former leader, Abbas Musawi.
Recent Developments: Hamieh Reportedly Survived Beirut Attack
According to Israeli media, Hamieh is reportedly the only senior Hezbollah official still alive after the September 24, 2024 attack in Ghobeiry, a suburb of southern Beirut, which he allegedly survived. Al-Hadath media had previously reported, citing "Israeli reports," that Hamieh was the target of the strike, a claim denied by Israeli army radio.
Talal Hamieh has been on the US State Department's Rewards for Justice program since October 10, 2017, with a reward of up to $7 million for information on his whereabouts. On September 13, 2012, the US Treasury Department designated Hamieh as a global terrorist, freezing all his assets and interests under US jurisdiction.
Following Hassan Nasrallah's assassination, experts consulted by This Is Beirut have mentioned Hamieh as a potential successor, along with Naim Qassem, Hezbollah’s deputy secretary-general, and Hashem Safieddine, head of the group’s executive council, whose status remains uncertain.
Comments