Man who drove a truck filled with explosives into a house michigan Synagogues operate as agents HezbollahOn March 30, federal officials said a foreign terrorist organization based in Lebanon. Several children were inside the daycare center at the time of the incident.
Ayman Mohamad Ghazali, a naturalized U.S. citizen from Lebanon, crashed a car into Temple Israel on March 12, targeting one of the country’s largest synagogues. Ghazali, 41, shot himself in the head during the attack near West Bloomfield Township. DetroitAccording to the FBI.
The synagogue’s head of security was hit by Ansari’s vehicle and taken to hospital, but he is expected to make a full recovery.
5 things to know about Ayman Mohammad Ansari’s motivations
- FBI investigators said Ansari had been an avid follower of the group. Hezbollah There was considerable publicity, and at least one of his siblings was recognized as a member of the group. In early March, the brother was killed in an Israeli attack on Hezbollah during the ongoing conflict involving Iran.
- At a news conference, Jennifer Runyan, the FBI agent in charge in Detroit, said she disagreed with linking the deaths of the Ansari brothers to attacks on children in the United States. “While the mobilization and radicalization we really saw occurred after March 9, that’s almost irrelevant,” Runyon said of the FBI’s findings. “This was a terrorist attack against someone who was not related to his family.”
- Before the attack, FBI Reports say Ansari absorbed Iranian and Hezbollah propaganda and procured weapons, fireworks and gasoline for the operation. He also created a Facebook album called “Revenge” that included photos of the late Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali, authorities said Khamenei.
- Federal authorities released the findings as the conflict with Iran continues for more than a month. As part of the war, Israel and Hezbollah engaged in direct hostilities.
- Runyan further revealed that FBI investigators examined Ansari’s online activities since January and found that he had been seeking news from sources spreading pro-Hezbollah and pro-Iran propaganda.
In addition, Runyan said that he is also concerned about the remarks of Hezbollah Secretary-General Naeem Qasim and news reports about “Iran’s fatwa to launch a comprehensive jihad against the US military.”
FBI officials also revealed online evidence that Ansari began planning the attack on March 9 after his Lebanese brothers were killed.
Hezbollah is a key ally of Iran and responded to the attack on March 2 that resulted in the elimination of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. The FBI reported that Ansari lost family members to an Israeli attack on March 9.
