The FBI is investigating possible international and personal ties behind the attack on the Temple synagogue in Israel. michigan. U.S. intelligence databases had previously reported that the suspect had ties to suspected members of the militant group Hezbollah.
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
Why is the FBI investigating Hezbollah’s ties to Ansari?
Ansari’s family in Lebanon
Investigators said Ansari may have been influenced by recent events. middle East. CNN reported that a few days before the attack on the Israeli temple, Israel launched an air strike on the village of Mashgara, killing the brothers of the two suspects and their children.
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
Contact information for Hezbollah members on Ansari’s phone
Investigators said Ansari last traveled abroad in 2019. He traveled from the United States to Lebanon and returned to the country via Atlanta International Airport. On that return trip, he was reportedly flagged by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) system, which officials described as a “threshold target.”
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.
