Michigan suspect’s Hezbollah connections: What police know about Temple Israel suspect

However, he himself is not suspected of being a member of the group, according to CNN.

Authorities identified the suspect as Ayman Mohamad Ghazali, a 41-year-old U.S. citizen born in Lebanon. Ansari rams car into Temple Israel synagogue complex west bloomfield March 12, township.

Read more: Who is Ayman Ghazaleh, the man linked to Temple Israel synagogue shooting

According to Iskandar Barak, the mayor of Mashgara, Lebanon, Ansari’s brothers Qasim and Ibrahim were killed in an Israeli airstrike on March 5, and Ibrahim’s two children Ali and Fatima were also killed. Barak told CNN that both men’s wives were injured, as well as Ansari’s parents.

According to Barak, three recent Israeli bombing attacks occurred in the area, which is about 30 miles southeast of Beirut. One of the attacks targeted a Hezbollah-affiliated financial institution, causing damage to a local school.

As a result, investigators are looking into whether his family’s deaths may have influenced the attack.

Read more: Suspect dies after crashing vehicle into Michigan synagogue

Threshold targeting is a screening process triggered when an individual appears in an intelligence database due to possible security concerns.

According to CNN, Ansari was interviewed by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents after arriving in Atlanta. During the interview, he reportedly told authorities that he traveled to Lebanon to receive a hair transplant.

Agents also searched his cell phone, which reportedly contained contact information linking Ansari to Hezbollah. Officials said the exact identities of those contacts and the nature of Ansari’s relationships with them remain unclear.

However, authorities have not confirmed direct operational links between the suspects and Hezbollah.