Hezbollah's Secret Security
Hezbollah's Secret Security Apparatus and its commander
Much of Hezbollah's military apparatus is based in South Lebanon, deployed along the border with Israel, as regional and specialized units (such as the surface to surface rocket [SSR] unit), with the goal of creating a balance of power opposite the Israeli army.
In addition to the military apparatus, Hezbollah also operates a clandestine security apparatus, commanded by Moustafa Bader El-Din (Badreddine).
Bader El-Din is one of the founders of Hezbollah, who worked extensively with Imad Mughniya, his brother-in-law (Mughniya was married to Bader El-Din's sister), and was involved in bomb attacks, against Western targets among others. Bader El-Din was arrested and sentenced to death in Kuwait in 1983, for his involvement in a series of simultaneous attacks against local and Western targets. Following various attempts to release him from prison in Kuwait, Mughniya finally succeeded in helping Bader El-Din escape after the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in 1990. Upon his return to Lebanon, Bader El-Din resumed his activity within Hezbollah's military apparatus and continued to be actively involved in attacks mounted by the organization. After Mughniya's death in 2008, Bader El-Din took many of Mughniya's responsibilities upon himself, in particular those regarding the units deployed abroad. Bader El-Din's name was brought up in connection with the assassination of Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri in 2005 (as well as a number of other Lebanese political figures), and he was cited as one of the potential defendants against which the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) was expected to issue an indictment.
The apparatus also includes special units who are deployed outside of Lebanon. These include the Overseas Operation Unit (ESO), Unit 1800, and the Intelligence Apparatus (Intelligence Unit). Click the tab for each of these units for a short presentation.
