THE LONG REACH OF HEZBOLLAH
Links could put Canada at risk.
TORONTO • Fawzi Ayub is a 45-year-old member of Hezbollah who uses the alias Frank Boschi and “should be considered armed and dangerous,” according to his entry on the FBI’s Most Wanted Terrorists list. He is also a Canadian. After Hezbollah sent him to Romania to hijack a passenger plane, Ayub made his way to Canada. He married and worked at a supermarket until Hezbollah sent him on a mission to conduct a bombing in Israel.
This week’s deadly suicide attack in Bulgaria that targeted a bus full of Israeli tourists has brought renewed attention on Iran’s shadowy terrorist operatives, Hezbollah and the Revolutionary Guards.
While the bombing investigation is still in the early stages, Pentagon spokesman George Little said Friday it “does bear the hallmarks of Hezbollah.” The New York Times reported that U.S. officials suspected Hezbollah was behind the blast.
According to an analysis prepared for the New York Police Department, and cited by Reuters, the Bulgaria attack was the ninth plot this year in which Iranian-sponsored terrorists had targeted Israeli or Jewish targets worldwide. Israel said there had been 20 such incidents in the past year.
“Clearly this is not an isolated incident, there have been quite a few attempts, and unfortunately this one succeeded,” said Doron Horowitz, director of national security infrastructure at the Toronto-based Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs. “It shows a willingness and capacity, meaning that they are actively involved in identifying what could be seen as soft targets and have the means to carry out an attack.”
Like other Jewish organizations, CIJA has been in touch with Canadian security officials since the attack in Bulgaria. The group was told to be vigilant but that there was no evidence of imminent terrorist attacks in Canada.
“This is not Europe. I would say that there are different challenges but I would say at the same time that Jewish communities in North America are responsible for a level of preparedness that will help mitigate and prevent such incidents,” Mr. Horowitz said.
The attack on the Black Sea coast followed similar attempts
A proven capability to conduct a mass casualty attack
in Thailand, India, Kenya, Georgia, Cyprus and Azerbaijan, and comes as Iran is facing opposition to its rogue nuclear program in the form of crippling sanctions, cyber attacks and the assassination of nuclear scientists.
But while Iran may be using its proxy Hezbollah to do its dirty work internationally, the latest attack will likely trigger renewed pressure on its operatives, including in Canada, where Hezbollah has long been active.
Last week, a Quebec Muslim activist, Mouna Diab, was charged with smuggling firearms parts to Hezbollah. Acting under the direction of a Hezbollah associate in Lebanon, Ms. Diab had purchased AR-15-type rifle parts around Montreal and shipped them to Lebanon in packages carried by community members unaware of the scheme, according to the RCMP.
In Canada, Hezbollah is “primarily involved in logistics and operational support activities and fundraising destined for terrorist purposes overseas,” the RCMP said in the statement announcing the charging of Ms. Diab.
But the group has scouted targets in Canada, and after terrorist chief Imad Mugniyah was assassinated in Damascus in 2008, Canadian security officials warned the Jewish community that Hezbollah might be planning a revenge attack.
“Anyone who has any connection to Israel, civilians or not, are potential targets,” said Anita Bromberg, the national director of legal affairs at B’nai Brith Canada. The group said it had also spoken with security officials about the Bulgaria attack, but Ms. Bromberg said police told her they had not noticed an increase in “chatter” related to Canada.
Even before this week’s bus bombing, Hezbollah was already a priority for the RCMP national security section. Hezbollah is a banned terrorist organization in Canada, which calls it one of the most technically capable terrorist groups in the world.
“Hezbollah has a proven capability to conduct a mass casualty attack, target unguarded foreign nationals, strike at heavily guarded targets, and carry out multiple and coordinated attacks,” reads a June 2010 Canadian intelligence study obtained by the National Post.
The report notes that Hezbollah “has not conducted a terrorist attack on Canadian soil,” but it acknowledges a “presence” in the country. Several Hezbollah members have been caught in Canada, Hezbollah flags have appeared at demonstrations in Montreal and Toronto, and a billboard paying tribute to Hezbollah was once erected in Windsor.
The bomber who struck in Bulgaria has not yet been publicly named, but Ayub was well trained, well traveled and had multiple identities. Ayub began his career as a terrorist in the Amal militia in Beirut. He joined Hezbollah in 1983.
His first assignment was to hijack an airliner in Romania in order to secure the release of prisoners held in Iraq. He was arrested shortly before the hijacking but his co-conspirators went ahead with the plot and the plane crashed, killing 62.
Freed from a Romanian jail (his release was allegedly facilitated by bribes paid by Hezbollah), Ayub came to Canada. He became a citizen in 1992 and married twice but returned to Lebanon, and in 2000 he was recruited into the elite Hezbollah terrorist unit known as Islamic Jihad.
Using a fake U.S. passport, he travelled to Israel in 2002. According to U.S. and Israeli authorities, Hezbollah sent him to conduct a bombing. He inquired about buying the components for a bomb but was arrested. He told Israeli authorities he was on a mission from God.
“Everything just for God,” he said.
Two years later, Ayub got a lucky break. Israel agreed to free 436 prisoners and he was one of them. In exchange, Hezbollah handed over a kidnapped Israeli businessman and the bodies of three Israeli soldiers.
Ayub was taken from his cell and flown to Germany, where he boarded a plane back to Lebanon. Live television coverage showed him disembarking from a plane at Beirut airport and walking into the arms of Hassan Nasrallah, the boss
of Hezbollah.