US fears al Qaida relationship with Hezbollah

US intelligence agencies say minor al Qaida members are building relationships with members of Hezbollah, sparking fears that the world’s two most sophisticated Islamic terror networks will start co-operating.

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 the leadership of al Qaida, Osama bin Laden’s terror group.

Instead, US counter-terrorism officials say individual al Qaida members, cut off from the group’s leadership by the US military operation in Afghanistan, are turning to what they consider the next best thing - Hezbollah, which is based in Lebanon.

Still, the prospect of co-operation at any level has alarmed US officials.

The fervour and international sophistication of al Qaida members, coupled with the resources, organisation 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.

"Hezbollah has a very extensive support network, not only in the Mideast, but in Europe, and in the United States," the official said.

Hezbollah was formed in 1982 with Iranian backing during Israel’s invasion of Lebanon.

The group is linked to the bombing of the US Marine barracks in Lebanon in 1983 that killed 241 Americans, bombings of two US Embassy buildings and kidnappings of more than 50 foreigners.

Most of its recent operations have been directed at Israel, rather than the United States.

There was some evidence suggesting Hezbollah members had shared intelligence on US efforts to track terrorists in certain cities and provided some financial assistance, a law enforcement official said.

But that conclusion isn’t universally accepted throughout the US government - underscoring the difficulty of gathering solid intelligence on the two terrorist groups.

Other US counter-terrorism officials told The Associated Press that while they had observed increased contacts and relationship-building between members of the two terror groups, they had not seen credible evidence of financial or operational collaboration.

FBI counter-terrorism agents believe many al Qaida members are desperate for resources because of US efforts to reduce the funds available to the terrorist organisation.

Despite the low-level meetings, US officials are unaware of high-level contacts between al Qaida’s surviving leadership and that of Hezbollah.

They have denied news reports that al Qaida leaders attended a March meeting of Hezbollah officials in Lebanon.

Yet Lebanon has been the site of many of the al Qaida contacts with Hezbollah that US officials have learned about, one US counter-terrorism official said.

Hezbollah also enjoys support from Syria and Lebanon, both of which have aided the US war on al Qaida, and US officials believe Hezbollah’s relationship with both countries could be threatened if it began working extensively with al Qaida.

"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.

Hezbollah’s leadership is known to have been surprised by the September 11 attacks on the Pentagon and World Trade Centre.

Historically, al Qaida and Hezbollah functioned separately.

Al Qaida is run by Sunni Muslims and Hezbollah by Shiites.

Ideological differences between these two chief branches of Islam have apparently prevented an alliance thus far, but their mutual hatred of America and Israel may drive them closer, officials fear.

Numerous al Qaida members have made their way to the Middle East since the destruction of bin Laden’s Afghan operations, said Stan Bedlington, a former terrorism analyst at the CIA.

Arabs like Hezbollah because it has been regarded as victorious since the Israeli military pulled out of south Lebanon in 2000.