Nasrallah. Mr. T?
Photo: AFP
Mugniyah. Hannibal Smith?
Photo: Reuters
Intelligence agencies in the United States and Canada are warning of mounting signs that Hizbullah, backed by Iran, is poised to mount a terror attack against "Jewish targets" somewhere outside the Middle East.
Officials say the group is seeking revenge for the February assassination of Hizbullah leader Imad Mugniyah, killed by a car bomb in Damascus, Syria.
Intelligence officials told ABC News the group has activated suspected "sleeper cells" in Canada and key operatives have been tracked moving outside the group's Lebanon base to Canada, Europe and Africa.
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There is no credible information on a specific target, according to the officials. Suspected Hizbullah operatives have conducted recent surveillance on the Israeli embassy in Ottawa, Canada and on several synagogues in Toronto, according to the officials. Latin America may also be at risk for such an attack.
Officials say the CIA, the NSA, and British and Canadian intelligence agencies began to pick up a steady stream of information - from electronic intercepts, human sources and surveillance - about a possible Hizbullah attack on Feb. 17, just days after the Beirut funeral of Mugniyah where Hezbollah leaders publicly declared they would seek revenge.
"They want to kill as many people as they can, they want it to be a big splash," said former CIA intelligence officer Bob Baer, who says he met with Hezbollah leaders in Beirut last month.
"They cannot have an operation fail," said Baer, "and I don't think they will. They're the A-team of terrorism."
Waiting for Tehran approval
Alarms were first raised in Canada, where as many as 20 suspected Hizbullah operatives have been under surveillance after as many as four suspected "sleeper cells" were activated, including one known as "Rashedan," intelligence officials said. The members also received instruction to send their family members home to Lebanon, according to officials.
Officials have also reported that a known Hizbullah weapons expert was followed to Canada, where he was seen at a firing range south of Toronto, near the US border.
Intelligence officials said the recent Hezbollah activities were being coordinated with the help of Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards. "Hizbullah would not carry out an attack in the west, or wherever this attack is going to occur, without approval from Tehran," said Baer.
He added that his Hizbullah contacts told him an attack against the US was unlikely because Iran and Hizbullah did not want to give the Bush administration an excuse to retaliate.