Hezbollah may activate sleeper cells
WASHINGTON, May 22 (UPI) -- As concerns rise over Iran's nuclear program, U.S. security agents reportedly fear the Hezbollah terror group may be planning to attack U.S. cities.
The New York Post, quoting sources, said the Lebanon-based fundamentalist Islamic group may be planning to activate sleeper cells in New York or other big cities. The investigation is being carried out by the FBI and the Justice Department.
Quoting law-enforcement and intelligence officials, the newspaper said about a dozen hard-core supporters of Hezbollah have been identified in recent weeks as operating in the New York area. The Iranian Mission to the United Nations also is being watched.
But U.S. officials also told the newspaper there is no intelligence information pointing to an imminent attack by Hezbollah.
The stepped up security activity comes after reports that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had met with leaders of Hezbollah and other terror groups during a visit to Syria, the report said.
http://www.upi.com/NewsTrack/view.php?StoryID=20060522-101449-8277r
Man Dies After Being Doused With Lye
NEW YORK -- A businessman died after someone doused him with lye as he arrived to open his restaurant in the Bronx.
Rehmatullah Azezollah was sitting in his car waiting for his partner to arrive to open the restaurant, Lincoln Fried Chicken on East 149th Street, around 10 a.m. Saturday when he was attacked, police said.
His 23-year-old son, Humayun Azezollah, was questioned by police in connection with the incident but was later released. They reportedly had argued earlier about Rehmatullah Azezollah's plan to take a second "wife" and over the father's concerns that the Afghani-American family was getting too Westernized.
Police said the son had been arrested earlier this month for allegedly assaulting his father. Friends said the elder Azezollah also was the target of another attack last week when several men beat him. Police said they had no information on that assault. (snip)
http://www.wnbc.com/news/9252361/detail.html
ON THE NET...
JIHAD WATCH.org: "REACH OUT, REACH OUT AND TORCH SOMEONE" (ARTICLE SNIPPET (GLOBE AND MAIL): "Security experts say it's no surprise that a group linked to Hezbollah cloned the cellphones of Ted Rogers and other high-level Rogers executives. The Iranian-backed radical Shia group based in Lebanon -- regarded by many as even more sophisticated than al-Qaeda -- has sharpened its counterintelligence expertise over the years by keeping a step ahead of Mossad, Israel's secret service. Hezbollah, whose name means Party of God, has become ever more adept at intercepting electronic surveillance, penetrating cellphone networks and recruiting computer science technicians.") (December 21, 2005)
MEMRITV.org - Video Clip No. 962:"Lebanese Students at a Hizbullah TV Symposium: We Should Fight the Jews and Burn Them Like Hitler. Israel Should Be Wiped Off the Map" (SNIPPET: "Following are excerpts from a symposium of students at Universite Libanaise, hosted by Hizbullah's Al-Manar TV, and broadcast on November 29, 2005."
INTELLIGENCE.org.il: "IRAN AND HEZBOLLAH AS INSTIGATORS OF TERRORISM: Iran's Growing Involvement, through Hezbollah, in Palestinian Terrorism in Israel and in the Palestinian Authority Administered Territories in the Course of 2004" (Note: "Based on a report by the Israel Security Agency on Palestinian terrorist activities in 2004") (January 12, 2005)
"fayrouz.blogspot.com/2004_09_01_fayrouz_archive.html#109415983198622045" - "IRAN AND AL-ZARQAWI" - "posted by Fayrouz 9/2/2004" (ARTICLE - TRANSLATION - SNIPPET: "A former corps chief said Abu-Mosaab Al-Zarqawi escaped to Turkey last year, after being in Iran and entered Iraq more than a year ago. He confirmed to the newspaper that a meeting was held last June between Al-Zarqawi and a Lebanese fugitive, Emad Mughania, at one of Al-Quds corps centers in Kermanshah providence in western Iran. The source said Mughania played an influential role in forming the Al-Mahdi Army. Al-Mahdi Army belongs to the strict Shia religious cleric, Muqtada Al-Sadr, and trains its members in camps inside Iran. He also mentioned the entrance of Shia fighters from Lebanon to Iraq dressed as religious studies students. These fighters then join Al-Madi Army under the supervision of Emad Mughania. Mughania underwent a cosmetic surgery recently in a sanitarium for the revolutionary guards in northern Iran to change his face. This is the 5th surgery for Mughania, who's been chased by Western and Arabic intelligence organizations for a number of years now. The source said Mughania kept his relationships with Aymen Al-Thawahiri, the number-two man in Al-Qaida organization despite the difficulty of contacting him lately. He added that Mughania submitted a report early this year to chief of the revolutionary guards intelligence after a visit to Iraq. The report outlined the importance of expanding a framework of collaboration between Al-Mahdi Army and Al-Zarqawi's group. Muqtada has lost his standing among the Iraqi shia, especially Al-Najaf, while gaining more supporters in the Sunni triangle.")
TREAS.GOV/OFFICES/ENFORCEMENT/OFAC/SDN/SDNLIST.TXT: "ALPHABETICAL LISTING OF SPECIALLY DESIGNATED NATIONALS AND BLOCKED PERSONS" (SNIPPET: "HIZBALLAH (a.k.a. PARTY OF GOD; a.k.a. ISLAMIC JIHAD; a.k.a. ISLAMIC JIHAD ORGANIZATION; a.k.a. REVOLUTIONARY JUSTICE ORGANIZATION; a.k.a. ORGANIZATION OF THE OPPRESSED ON EARTH; a.k.a. ISLAMIC JIHAD FOR THE LIBERATION OF PALESTINE; a.k.a. ORGANIZATION OF RIGHT AGAINST WRONG; a.k.a. ANSAR ALLAH; a.k.a. FOLLOWERS OF THE PROPHET MUHAMMED) [SDT][FTO][SDGT]"