Qabalan Asked U.S. to Parole Three Wanted Hizbullah Members

Lebanon highest ranking Shiite Muslim cleric disclosed Tuesday that he had asked the United States to parole three Hizbullah members listed by the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) among the 24 most wanted terrorists.

 

Eulogizing Hizbullah”s Imad Mughniyeh, Sheikh Abdul Amir Qabalan said: “for the first time I disclose that I had met the ex-American ambassador and asked him to parole the three young men, no body asked me to do that.”

 

Qabalan added: “No body had asked me to do that, I told him (U.S. ambassador) those young men would not surrender or fall in your trap. They had told me that they would either be killed or killing and my advice to the Americans is to stop chasing these young men, such as Imad and his comrades.”

 

“But when they (Americans) insisted I told him (ambassador) you wouldn”t get them and we”ll always be with them,” Qabalan added, addressing a mourning ceremony for Mughniyeh who was killed in Damascus on Feb. 12.

 

Sheikh Qabalan did not mention names of Mughniyeh”s two comrades, but he was obviously referring to Ali Atwa and Hassan Izz-al-din.

 

The two are wanted by the United States on charges of hijacking Trans World Airlines flight 847 to Beirut Airport on June 14, 1985 and the killing of an American passenger. Mughniyeh also was wanted on the same

charge.

 

Qabalan concluded by addressing Israeli leaders: “If you want war, you are welcome, we”ll all be Imad Mughniyeh.”