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Hizbullah Courier Found Guilty in Plot to Attack Israeli Tourists in Cyprus
(New York Times) Nicholas Kulish - A court in Cyprus on Thursday found Hossam Taleb Yaacoub, a dual Swedish-Lebanese citizen, guilty of participating in a plot to attack Israeli tourists there, part of a conspiracy similar to a deadly bombing last July in Bulgaria. Yaacoub admitted in court last month that he was a member of Hizbullah, and that he was trained in the use of weapons and sent around Europe on missions as a courier and scout for the organization. Yaacoub acknowledged performing clandestine work in France and the Netherlands as well as Cyprus. His conviction is likely to give further impetus to efforts to have the group designated a terrorist organization by the EU. Experts say that in the legalistic, bureaucratic world of Brussels, a court conviction holds significantly more weight than a declaration by a government or an intelligence report.