FBI: Hizbullah still a threat
US counterterror experts testify that group continues to threaten Lebanese government, Israel and has ability to launch an attack on the US as well. FBI official: Hizbullah sympathizers in US raise money through money laundering, drug trafficking and fraud
Frank Urbancic, a State Department counterterrorism official, told the House of Representatives’ International Relations Committee that Hizbullah enjoys a symbiotic relationship with Iran and Syria, receiving money, arms and training.
Counterterrorism official with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, John Kavanagh, called Hizbullah one of the world’s most capable terrorist groups, “A well-trained guerrilla force that is proficient in military tactics and weaponry.”
Hizbullah’s leader Hassan Nasrallah recently told thousands of supporters that the group still has 20,000 rockets.
Threat to US?
Kavanagh said that although Hizbullah has the ability to launch an attack on the United States, it has not done so since the 1996 attack on the Khobar Towers dormitory in Saudi Arabia that killed 19 US military personnel. Hizbullah sympathizers in the United States, Kavanagh said, have laundered money, trafficked drugs and engaged in bank and credit card fraud.Hizbullah has “acted as a willing partner” in Iran’s long-standing efforts “to combat US interests it perceives as at odds with its own,” Urbancic said. That relationship, he testified, remained firm throughout the 34 days of fighting between Israel and Hizbullah that ended with a cease-fire last month.
“We believe that Hizbullah’s decision to exacerbate the conflict with indiscriminate rocket attacks into Israel targeting Israeli civilians could not have happened without at least the tacit support of Tehran,” Urbancic said. Hizbullah’s military profile has recently dipped in the south, he said, although it was unclear to officials if that was because of po litical concerns or losses suffered in the war.
He said that Hizbullah has “deep roots and broad support,” noting its quick reconstruction and humanitarian work after the fighting with Israel ended, “Well in advance of international donor efforts.”
A US indictment alleges that a smuggling ring in the state of Michigan dealt in contraband cigarettes and other items, steering some of the profits to Hizbullah guerrillas.
Last May sources told the New York Post that Hizbullah may be planning to activate sleeper cells in New York and other big cities to stage an attack as the nuclear showdown with Iran heats up.
No information pointing to imminent attack
The FBI and Justice Department have launched urgent new probes in New York and other cities targeting members of the Lebanese terror group, the Post said.
Law-enforcement and intelligence officials told The Post that about a dozen hard-core supporters of Hizbullah have been identified in recent weeks as operating in the New York area.
The nationwide effort to neutralize Hizbullah sleepers in the United States, headed by the FBI and the Justice Department's counterterrorism divisions, was launched in January in response to reports that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad met with leaders of Hizbullah and other terror groups during a visit to Syria.
Among those attending the meetings, according to reports, was Hizbullah’s chief operational planner, Imad Mugniyah, who is responsible for the bombings of the 1983 US Marine barracks in Beirut and who, more recently, provided Iraqi guerrillas with sophisticated explosive devices.
The Post reported that US officials stressed there is no intelligence information pointing to an imminent attack by Hizbullah.
However, officials did say that they have detected increased activity by Hizbullah operatives - including more heated rhetoric by its leaders and in internet chat rooms as the US-Iran showdown heats up.
