Commander of Unit 910 - Talal Hamia

Talal Hamia, who was born in the late 1950s, worked from a young age as an administration clerk at the Beirut airport until 1982. He began his terrorist activities in the mid 1980s. The base of his activities was Bourj Al-Barajneh, where he coordinated the men who later became the operational backbone and senior members of Hezbollah.

In the 1980s, Hamia, a tall and portly man with a beard, worked alongside Imad Mughniya, who later became the head of Hezbollah's military branch and Nasrallah's trusted advisor. During this period, the two men were involved in numerous terrorist plots, aimed mainly at Western targets, plots that included kidnappings of foreigners, hijackings of airplanes, the killing of journalists, and so forth.

Hamia's cunning served him in planning and carrying out precise and devastating attacks against the French corps and the U.S. Marines posted in Lebanon in the 1980s. Hamia was the mastermind of these Terror Attacks, as well as of the hijacking of the Kuwaiti airplane perpetrated in response to the arrest of Moustafa Bader El-Din (Badreddine), who was arrested by the Kuwaitis for plotting to murder the Emir of Kuwait. Years later, Bader El-Din replaced Imad Mughniya as the head of Hezbollah's military branch, with Hamia working faithfully at his side.

One of the large terror attacks for which Hamia was responsible was the attack in Buenos Aires in 1992. Hamia, known for his close connections with Iranian intelligence elements, worked closely with them on the scene, and was responsible for planning the attack. In this carefully planned attack, 28 innocent civilians lost their lives and more than 200 people were injured.

As years went by, the apparatus lead by Hamia – also named Abu Jaafar, after his eldest son – gradually consolidated its presence in the arena. This process began towards the end of the 1980s, while in effect, from the 1990s, Hamia became the actual commander of Hezbollah's ESO. The apparatus acquired its legitimacy to act abroad and carry out attacks against Western targets, or against anyone seen as a threat to Hezbollah, from Hassan Nasrallah.

In accordance with his role and the secrecy required from a man who carries out sophisticated terror attacks, Hamia is not known to be a social type, does not move in social circles other than his family members and close friends, does not dine in restaurants and does not behave in any ostentatious way. His clandestine conduct is meticulous, particularly when he is away from his usual work scene in Beirut. At times, due to his asceticism, he even looks like a very simple man dressed in shabby clothes who doesn't seem to care about his external appearance. Nevertheless, Hamia maintains a healthy lifestyle, and therefore does not smoke and does not drink coffee, and is generally in good health.

Apart from his activities within Hezbollah and his extensive ties with the Iranians, Hamia pursues civilian undertakings, thanks to his close ties with the Iranians. He owns a number of private businesses, which provide him with a comfortable source of revenue.

His position and good health guarantee him many more years of command within Hezbollah, but like any other commander, he might already be preparing the next generation of Hezbollah's ESO commanders. One of them may be one of his sons, who are active in Hezbollah, and who may indeed succeed him one day.