An al-Qaida branch in Lebanon reportedly tried to assassinate the leader of Hezbollah.
Lebanese security forces over the summer arrested three al-Qaida operatives who confessed to a plot against Sheik Hassan Nasrallah’s life, the Lebanon daily newspaper As-Safir reported Thursday.
According to the newspaper, the assassination was to have involved explosives and poison. The detainees further said they had fired rockets into Israel in a bid to spark a war.
The report came amid major political upheaval in Lebanon, with Hezbollah and other Syria-backed groups facing off against the Western-favored government.
Hezbollah and al-Qaida have major doctrinal differences — Shi’ite and Sunni, respectively. But some terrorism experts believe they have stepped up cooperation against common enemies.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
