| INTERNATIONAL TERRORIST SYMBOLS DATABASE |
 |
 |
|
| Hezbollah
|
|
|
 | |
Description: The name of the group is spelled in green letters against a yellow background. A fist rises from the letters clutching an AK-47. Below the rifle is a Koran and a globe. The red script above the rifle says, "Verily, the Party of God, they are the triumphant ones."
Explanation: The group's name is in green because green is Islam's traditional color. The Koran denotes the group's divinely-derived legitimacy and devotion to Islam, as does the tall "alef" (the letter on which the fist rests) - which is the first letter of Allah's (God's) name. The rifle is meant to affirm the group's commitment to armed struggle. The globe represents Hezbollah's global ambitions.
|
| Name Variations | Overview | Focus of Operations | Major Attacks | Leaders | Ideology | Goals | Methods | Sponsors | U.S.- Related Activities | |
Name Variations
Hezbollah (Party of God)
Overview
Hezbollah emerged in 1982 from the Shiite Muslim population of Southern Lebanon. Armed and trained by Iran and allowed to operate openly by Syria, Hezbollah fighters waged a guerilla war against Israeli forces in Southern Lebanon and carried out terrorist attacks against Israeli civilians in northern Israel. The organization's goal is the establishment of an Islamic state encompassing Lebanon and Israel. It has been implicated in terrorist actions targeting Americans, Jews and Israelis around the world.
Hezbollah is a significant social force in Lebanon, where it operates schools, hospitals and other social services; additionally, several members of the group's political wing sit in the Lebanese parliament. The organization also runs Al Manar satellite television, disseminating anti-Semitic and anti-American programming worldwide and glorifying suicide bombers.
Since Israel's withdrawal from Lebanon in 2000, Hezbollah's attacks have been relatively limited in scope, but the organization has increased its presence in the West Bank and Gaza, providing weapons, training and funds to Palestinian terrorist groups.
Focus of Operations
Lebanon, Syria, West Bank, Gaza, Israel
Major Attacks
- July 18, 1994: Suicide bombing of AMIA Jewish Center in Argentina:
87 killed, 300 injured.
- March 17, 1992: Suicide bombing of Israeli Embassy in Argentina:
29 killed, over 250 injured.
- October 23, 1983: Suicide bombing of the U.S. Marine barracks in Beirut:
241 marines killed.
Leaders
- Founder: Ali Akbar Motashemi
- Secretary General: Hasan Nasrallah (in Beirut)
- Spiritual leader: Muhammad Hussein Fadlallah
Ideology
Militant Islamic Fundamentalism
Goals
- Destruction of Israel
- Establishment of an Islamic state in Lebanon and over Jerusalem
Methods
Pioneered use of suicide bombings in Mideast. Also conducts paramilitary operations against civilian and military targets.
Sponsors
Iran, Syria and Lebanon
U.S.-Related Activities
- Prior to September 11, 2001, Hezbollah was responsible for the deaths of more Americans around the world than any other terrorist organization.
- On December 17, 2004, the U.S. government designated Hezbollah's satellite television station, Al Manar, as a terrorist entity and placed it on the Terrorism Exclusion List.
- According to the FBI, Hezbollah maintains a network of "sleeper" cells in the United States. U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage testified before Congress in September 2002 that Hezbollah's capability to organize an attack against U.S. targets was similar to that of Al Qaeda.
- In 2002 the FBI uncovered a Hezbollah cell in Charlotte, North Carolina. Several operatives were eventually convicted of raising funds and procuring dual-use technology - including night-vision goggles, global positions systems, stun guns, naval equipment, nitrogen cutters and laser range finders - for the group's military wing. The cell's ringleader, Mohammad Hammoud, was sentenced to 155 years in prison.
- In January 2002 a U.S. federal judge ordered Iran to pay $42 million to the family of Charles Hegna, who was executed by Hezbollah terrorists during the 1984 hijacking of a Kuwait Airlines flight.
- On June 25, 1996 Hezbollah terrorists filled a tanker truck with explosives and detonated it outside the Khobar Towers housing complex in Dahrahn, Saudi Arabia. 19 U.S. servicemen were killed and over 370 Americans and Saudi Arabians were injured.
- Designated by the U.S. as a Foreign Terrorist Organization.
|
|
