US Offers $5Mln Rewards For Information On Hamas, Hezbollah Leaders - State Dept.

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 14th November, 2018) The United States is offering rewards of up to $5 million for information on a leader of the Palestinian Hamas organization and two leaders of the Lebanon-based Hezbollah, the Department of State announced in a press release.

"The US Department of State's Rewards for Justice Program is offering rewards of up to $5 million each for information leading to the identification or location of Hamas leader Salih al-Aruri and Lebanese Hizballah leaders Khalil Yusif Mahmoud Harb and Haytham 'Ali Tabataba'I," the release said on Tuesday.�

Salih al-Aruri is a deputy of the political bureau of Hamas and one of the founders of the Izzedine al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas's military wing, the release said.

Khalil Yusif Mahmoud Harb is a close adviser to Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah and has served as the group's chief military liaison to Iran and to militant Palestinian organizations, the release added.

Haytham 'Ali Tabataba'i is a key Hezbollah military leader who has commanded Hezbollah's special forces in both Syria and Yemen, the release said.�

The United States considers Hezbollah and Hamas terrorist organizations, while other countries including Russia and China regard the two groups as legitimate political parties.

Since its inception in 1984, the Rewards for Justice program has paid more than $145 million to more than 90 people who provided actionable information that helped bring terrorists to justice or prevented acts of international terrorism worldwide, according to the release.�