The US State Department announced on Tuesday that it is offering a reward of up to $7 million for information on Ibrahim Aqil. (Credit : Twitter/@RFJ_USA)
The US State Department announced on Tuesday that it is offering a reward of up to $7 million for information on Ibrahim Aqil, a Hezbollah leader. The announcement comes on the 40th anniversary of the Hezbollah bombing of the US Embassy in Beirut, according to a statement from the State Department.
"The US Department of State's Rewards for Justice (RFJ) program is announcing a reward of up to $7 million for information leading to the identification, location, arrest, and/or conviction of Ibrahim Aqil, also known as Tahsin, who serves on Hezbollah's highest military body, the Jihad Council," read the statement.
"During the 1980s, Aqil was a principal member of the Hezbollah terrorist cell, the Islamic Jihad Organization, which claimed responsibility for the bombings of the US Embassy in Beirut in April 1983, resulting in the death of 63 people, and the US Marine Corps barracks in October 1983, resulting in the death of 241 US personnel," it adds. "Also in the 1980s, Aqil directed the taking of American and German hostages in Lebanon and held them there."
The State Department encourages anyone with information to send it via Signal, Telegram, or WhatsApp to the following number: +1-202-702-7843.
The US considers Hezbollah a terrorist organization and one of Iran's main armed wings in the region. A year ago, the US State Department announced that it was offering a reward of up to $3 million for information about the April 18, 1983 attack.
The US Embassy in Beirut commemorated the 40th anniversary of the attack on Tuesday. "Let us show, with our continued commitment to this community, to our shared goals, that in their effort to break us, Hezbollah failed," said US Ambassador to Lebanon Dorothy Shea. "No one can break the resolve we all share — to work together, care for one another, and support a better future for the Lebanese people. The people of the United States and Lebanon have the strength and the will to continue forward, into a better, brighter, and more peaceful future."