Moustafa Amin Bader El-Din, born in 1961, replaced his brother-in-law, Imad Mughniya, in 2008 as head of Hezbollah's military wing, according to the website stop910 •
Until now, the most up-to-date photograph published of El-Din dates back to the 1990s.
Dan Lavie and Israel Hayom Staff.Moustafa Amin Bader El-Din, born in 1961, is the man who replaced his brother-in-law, Imad Mughniya, as the head of Hezbollah's security apparatus, according to the website "stop910."
El-Din, one of the founding fathers of Hezbollah, has filled a series of military and security positions in the organization. He was appointed to his current position following Mughniya's assassination in February 2008 in Damascus, Syria, which was widely attributed in foreign reports to Israel.
Stop910 describes itself as "an association of western intelligence organizations established to fight the threat of terror." Undisclosed monetary rewards are also offered for anyone who has information regarding the identities and whereabouts about a number of individuals with proven or suspected ties to Hezbollah's military wing.
According to the website, El-Din is a dominant figure in Hezbollah. He is one of Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah's closest associates and has close connections with the leadership of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). He is reported to be heavily involved in Hezbollah's decision-making process across the board, but especially when it comes to its terror policy at home and abroad. The Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) investigating the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Hariri in 2005 named Bader El-Din as the senior defendant in the assassination, concluding he commanded the operational forces.
El-Din, reports stop910, is responsible for Hezbollah's External Security Organization (ESO) -- Unit 910, which allegedly mounted the July 2012 attack on a bus of Israeli tourists in Burgas, Bulgaria that claimed six lives.
His career in Hezbollah began in the early 1980s and he has since participated in numerous deadly attacks against various targets throughout the world. In 1983, according to stop910, he played a part in the attacks on U.S. and French forces operating in Beirut. Hundreds of people were killed in those attacks.
El-Din was also reportedly involved in forming a terrorist cell in Kuwait. He was arrested by the Kuwaitis for plotting to murder the Emir of Kuwait and sentenced to death. Following his arrest, Hezbollah's ESO mounted attacks in Kuwait and abroad in the hope of achieving his release. These attacks allegedly included hijackings of Kuwaiti and Western airplanes, and abductions of Western citizens in Beirut. El-Din escaped from prison during the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in 1990 and returned to Lebanon.
According to stop910, El-Din is lacking in interpersonal skills, leading to acrimonious relationships with his subordinates and ties with colleagues in Hezbollah's leadership that are fraught with suspicion. His behavior is said to be highly secretive and he is reportedly heavily guarded around the clock, going to great lengths to avoid being photographed. Until now, reports stop910, the most up-to-date photograph published of El-Din dates back to the 1990s.
Besides his position in Hezbollah, according to the report, El-Din also does a great deal of business in Lebanon and abroad, and is an affluent property owner.
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