Izz-al-Din, Hasan (1963–)

aka Ahmed Garbaya, Samir Salwwan, Sa-id

For his alleged role in the 1985 hijacking of TWA Flight 847, Lebanese Hasan Izz-al-Din is named on the FBI's October 2001 list of the 22 “most wanted terrorists.” A hijacker convicted in the TWA case testified that Izz-al-Din killed a U.S. Navy diver during the two-week ordeal.

The FBI believes Izz-al-Din has returned to Lebanon. Although he was tied to the Shiite Muslim militant group and political party Hezbollah during the 1980s, Lebanese officials have claimed that Izz-al-Din is not currently linked to Hezbollah's party structure. (Although the U.S. government continues to regard Hezbollah as a terrorist organization, the group recast itself as a legitimate political party during the 1990s and holds elected seats in Lebanon's Parliament.)

[Page 188]According to U.S. officials, Izz-al-Din was one of the two hijackers who took over Flight 847 from Athens to Rome on June 14, 1985. The two men's weapons included a pistol and hand grenades they had smuggled through Athens airport security.

The hijackers redirected the Boeing 727 to Beirut; once landed, the hijackers called for the release of hundreds of prisoners, many of them Shiite Muslims, held by Israel. Mohammad Ali Hamadei, who was sentenced to life in prison in 1989 by a West German court for his role in the hijacking, testified that at this point Izz-al-Din shot U.S. Navy diver Robert Stethem and dumped his body onto the tarmac.

The plane eventually logged 8,300 miles, flying between Beirut and Algiers. The hijackers released some of the 153 passengers and crew held hostage each time the plane landed. Eventually, the plane stayed in Beirut while negotiations were under way. On June 30, the last of the hostages was released after Israel agreed to free 300 prisoners. The hijackers had also negotiated a flight to Algiers and freedom for themselves. The United States indicted Izz-al-Din and fellow Lebanese Hamadei, Imad Fayez Mughniyah, and Ali Atwa on July 3, 1985, on charges related to the TWA hijacking. Hamadei was later caught in Frankfurt and sentenced to life in prison.

Izz-al-Din has avoided capture for decades. Press reports in 1994 told of failed U.S. efforts to kidnap Izz-al-Din from his Beirut home and bring him by speedboat to a U.S. warship in the Mediterranean.

Mughniyah and Atwa also remain fugitives and are also on the FBI's 22 “most wanted terrorists” list. In January 2002, the U.S. State Department began offering a reward of up to $25 million for information leading to Izz-al-Din's arrest and/or conviction.