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.
