JERUSALEM—A super-mole working in the upper ranks of Hezbollah on behalf of the Israeli Mossad has been exposed, according to a Lebanese website, El Nashra, citing informed sources.
The man, whose initials were given as M. Sh., was identified as a Lebanese businessman who traveled widely abroad on special missions for Hezbollah. He was said to be a senior official in Hezbollah’s Unit 910, responsible for "external operations against specific Israeli targets." On one of M. Sh.’s trips to a western Asian country, he was recruited by the Mossad and agreed to provide top-secret information about Hezbollah operations and personnel, said the report.
According to the website, he was instrumental in thwarting a number of attempts by the organization to carry out retaliatory attacks for the assassination in 2008 of its top military figure, Imad Mughniyeh. A headrest in Mughniya’s car was replaced with one carrying explosives while he was visiting his mistress in Damascus. When he returned to the vehicle, the bomb was detonated remotely, killing him. Hezbollah accused Israel of the assassination and vowed revenge. Israel has never claimed responsibility.
The alleged informant, M. Sh., was also accused of tipping off the Mossad last year about the whereabouts in Beirut of Hassan al-Laqis, reportedly Hezbollah’s technology and arms chief. A previously unknown jihadist organization claimed responsibility for the killing of the secretive official but Hezbollah said that the Mossad was responsible. Lebanese sources said that the professional method of operation—lengthy stakeout of al-Laqis’ house, a swift killing with silencer-equipped guns, and an efficient get-away—pointed clearly to the Mossad.
Other Hezbollah officials have suffered mishaps in recent years that appeared to suggest a leak near the top of the organization’s hierarchy. Counter-terrorism officials in Peru said two months ago they had uncovered a Hezbollah plot to attack Jewish sites and Israeli tourist destinations in the country. They arrested Muhammed Amadar, 28, who they said had put together a terror cell and gathered information about potential targets.
"The man is linked to Hezbollah’s international terrorism infrastructure," said a Peruvian official, "and explosives were found in his apartment." He said the infrastructure was also intended for use against Western targets and for attempts to smuggle weaponry into the United States. Amidrar denied the charges and said he had been on his way to meet his Peruvian-born wife in the United States.
El Nashra, the Lebanese website, said the arrest of the alleged Mossad collaborator was a blow to Israel. "Hezbollah believes it has detected a germ in its body and treated it properly," it wrote.