<

Low-Level al-Qaida, Cut Off, Seek Relations with Hezbollah
Friday, July 26, 2002
(6:33 PM ET)
By Christopher Newton & John J. Lumpkin
Associated Press Writers

"Hezbollah leaders understand that al-Qaida is too hot to touch right now," said Janice Paine, a terrorism expert at Harvard University. "It's very easy for Hezbollah leaders to imagine the bombs that are falling on al-Qaida could be falling on them if they get connected to any terrorism in the United States. A connection between the groups would also undo the work that some Hezbollah leaders have done to make the group seem more moderate," Paine said.

WASHINGTON -- AP
U.S. intelligence agencies have detected low-level al-Qaida members building relationships with members of Hezbollah, sparking worries that the world's two most sophisticated Islamic terror networks will start cooperating, U.S. counterterrorism officials say.

The contacts so far are not extensive, and officials say Iranian-backed Hezbollah has plenty of reasons, both ideological and practical, to spurn any formal advances from al-Qaida's leadership.

Instead, U.S. counterterrorism officials say individual al-Qaida members, cut off from the group's leadership by the U.S. military operation in Afghanistan, are turning to what they consider the next best thing -- Hezbollah.

Still, the prospect of cooperation at any level has alarmed U.S. officials.

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.

Intelligence indicates 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 said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
(More: The Nando Times News Source)
2002 © The Associated Press.

Dan