Some low-level al-Qaida members are building relationships with members of Hezbollah, an Iranian-backed Lebanese group, looking to link up with new comrades in terror now that al-Qaida’s leaders have gone into hiding, U.S. officials say. Hezbollah has a very extensive support network, not only in the Mideast but in Europe and in the United States, which has ramifications for Law Enforcement domestically.
The development has raised U.S. misgivings about greater cooperation between the world’s two most sophisticated Islamic terror networks. The fervor and international sophistication of al-Qaida members, coupled with the resources, organization and state backing of Hezbollah, would constitute a volatile mix, terrorism experts said.
U.S. intelligence agencies indicate that “Al-Qaida (operatives), because they have been disrupted, are looking for places to go for help with various support functions,’' a senior law enforcement official.
So far, known contacts between Hezbollah and al-Qaida are neither high-level nor extensive, U.S. officials said. Officials say Hezbollah has plenty of reasons, both ideological and practical, to spurn any formal advances from al-Qaida’s leaders.
However, U.S. authorities have evidence suggesting Hezbollah members have shared intelligence on American effort to track terrorists in certain cities and provided some financial assistance.
Hezbollah receives support from Syria and Lebanon, both of which have aided the U.S. war on al-Qaida, and U.S. officials believe Hezbollah’s relationship with both countries could become threatened if it were to begin working extensively with Osama bin Laden’s group.
Al-Qaida and Hezbollah would seem unlikely partners historically due to religious differences. Al-Qaida is run by Sunni Muslims, Hezbollah by Shiites. Theological differences between these two major branches of Islam apparently have prevented an alliance thus far.
Hezbollah was formed in 1982 with Iranian backing during Israel’s invasion of Lebanon. The group is linked to the bombing of the U.S. Marine barracks in Lebanon in 1983 that killed 241 Americans, bombings of two U.S. embassy buildings and kidnappings of more than 50 foreigners. Most of its recent operations have been directed at Israel rather than the United States.
Source - AP