Al Qaida, Hizbullah join forces

World Tribune ^ | Monday, July 1, 2002 | World Tribune

[SunStar]

Al Qaida, Hizbullah join forces

SPECIAL TO WORLD TRIBUNE.COMMonday, July 1, 2002

The United States says the Sunni Al Qaida and Iran-backed Hizbullah have forged links that include strategic planning, training and safe haven for militants fleeing from Afghanistan.

U.S. officials said hundreds of Al Qaida militants have arrived in Syria and Lebanon and are being resettled in the Bekaa Valley. Initial contacts between the two organizations were established in March and April, Middle East Newsline reported.

"We're concerned about the linkages between these groups," U.S. National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice said. "We have been for a long time."

Ms. Rice did not elaborate. But other U.S. officials said Hizbullah, under orders from Iran, has provided safe haven and logistical help to Al Qaida insurgents fleeing from Afghanistan.

U.S. sources said a contingent of Chechen fighters linked to Al Qaida arrived in Lebanon in late 2001 and began manning a communications center in the Bekaa Valley. The Chechens are regarded as experts in explosives.

U.S. officials said the alliance was first detected earlier this year. In March, envoys from Al Qaida, Hamas and Hizbullah met in Lebanon's Bekaa Valley to discuss strategy.

The officials said that by April Hizbullah leaders were meeting with Al Qaida operatives who escaped Afghanistan for Iran.

The Washington Post has reported that Hizbullah-Al Qaida links are tactical and involve mid- and low-level operatives from both groups. The newspaper said U.S. officials and congressional leaders have expressed concern over such links.

"There is no strategic alliance between Al Qaida and Hizbullah," a U.S. official said. "Hizbullah hates Sunnis and would never form a partnership with them. Here, we are talking about an effort to ensure that both groups survive the U.S.-led war on terrorism."

The Post reported that the two insurgency groups are also cooperating in the training of explosives, money-laundering, weapons smuggling and the forgery documents. The newspaper said that over the last 18 months Hizbullah has reactivated assets in South America, Europe and Central Asia.