Probes of links to Hizballah grow

The Detriot Free Press reports:

The clashing views of Muslims and U.S. authorities over Hizballah are playing out in southeastern Michigan as federal investigators increasingly target local residents purported to have ties to the group.

Prosecutors have tried to link at least 29 metro Detroit men with Hizballah over the past three years, according to a review of court records and interviews with attorneys. About half the men were accused of the links in criminal cases over the past three months, including the owner of the La Shish restaurants, Talal Chahine.

The FBI in Detroit says Hizballah has a presence in Michigan, and the bureau has set up a division to investigate the Shi'ite Muslim group. In recent cases, federal agents are looking at ties to Sheikh Muhammad Hussein Fadlallah, a Shi'ite Muslim cleric in Lebanon who the U.S. government says is a Hizballah leader. The FBI in Detroit also has divisions that investigate Hamas and Al Qaeda, but those terrorist groups are not cited as often as Hizballah in local cases.

Something to think about in the future.