Tel Aviv threatens Lebanon, Hezbollah

Hezbollah blamed Israel for the Feb. 12, 2008 killing of its military mastermind, Imad Moughniyeh, in Syria and vowed revenge. Israel has since reported failed bids by Hezbollah agents to target its citizens in Africa and Central Asia.

An Egyptian newspaper on Saturday reported the capture of several men linked to Al-Qaeda intent on assassinating Israel's ambassador to Cairo. But Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon said the alleged plot was "certainly" the work of Hezbollah.

Egypt's Al Masry Al Youm daily reported that the Al-Qaeda-linked men had been arrested and confessed to monitoring the Israeli Embassy and ambassador's house with a view to killing him, but had been foiled by tight security.

Asked how he could assert that it was Hezbollah who were behind the plot rather than Al-Qaeda, Ayalon told Israel Radio: "I don't want to get into the intelligence or operational issues here, but certainly there is both an ideological connection and a professional connection of sorts here"; Kazinform cites Arab News. See www.arabnews.com for full version.