[ABC News ] Richard Esposito and Brian Ross - Intelligence agencies in the U.S. 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. Intelligence officials say 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. Officials say Hizbullah is seeking revenge for the February assassination of its military commander, Imad Mugniyah, killed by a car bomb in Damascus, Syria. Suspected Hizbullah operatives have conducted recent surveillance on the Israeli embassy in Ottawa and on several synagogues in Toronto, according to the officials. "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. However, Baer says his Hizbullah contacts told him an attack against the U.S. was unlikely because Iran and Hizbullah did not want to give the Bush administration an excuse to attack. Toronto has long been considered an important city for Hizbullah fund-raising and organizing, according to officials. "Because of lax immigration policies, it became a center for Hizbullah operations outside the Middle East," said Malcolm Hoenlein, Executive Vice Chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations.
2008-06-20 01:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive