U.S. places $7m bounty on Hizballah Leader Ibrahim Aqil

Today, on the 40th anniversary of Hizballah’s bombing of the U.S. Embassy in Beirut, Lebanon, the U.S. Department of State’s Rewards for Justice (RFJ) program, which is administered by the Diplomatic Security Service, has announced a reward of up to $7 million for information leading to the identification, location, arrest, and/or conviction of Hizballah key leader Ibrahim Aqil.

Ibrahim Aqil, also known as Tahsin, serves on Hizballah’s highest military body, the Jihad Council.

During the 1980s, Aqil was a principal member of Hizballah’s terrorist cell the Islamic Jihad Organization, which claimed responsibility for the bombings of the U.S. Embassy in Beirut in April 1983, which killed 63 people, and the U.S. Marine Corps barracks in October 1983, which killed 241 U.S. personnel.

Also in the 1980s, Aqil directed the taking of American and German hostages in Lebanon and held them there.

On July 21, 2015, the U.S. Department of the Treasury listed Aqil as a Specially Designated National, pursuant to Executive Order 13582, for acting for or on behalf of Hizballah. Subsequently, on September 10, 2019, the U.S. Department of State designated Aqil as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist pursuant to Executive Order 13224, as amended.

As a result of these designations, among other consequences, all property, and interests in property, of Aqil that are subject to U.S. jurisdiction are blocked, and U.S. persons are generally prohibited from engaging in any transactions with Aqil.

On October 8, 1997, the Department of State designated Hizballah as a Foreign Terrorist Organization under section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act, as amended. On October 31, 2001, the Department of Treasury designated Hizballah as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist pursuant to Executive Order 13224, as amended