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Death of Hezbollah leader could mean threat to Jewish targets

  • Story Highlights
  • Hezbollah leader Imad Mughniyeh died Tuesday in car bombing in Syria
  • FBI: We remind everyone to remain vigilant and report any suspicious activity
  • Mughniyeh allegedly took part in bombing of U.S. Marine barracks in Beirut, Lebanon
  • He eluded capture for 25 years
  • Next Article in U.S. »
From Carol Cratty
CNN
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WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The FBI is warning of possible threats to Jewish targets in the United States, following the car bombing death of a Hezbollah leader in Syria, a law enforcement official said Thursday.

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Hezbollah released this undated photograph of Imad Mughniyeh.

The FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Forces nationwide have been instructed to work with community officials to detect increased Hezbollah activity in the U.S., said the official, who requested anonymity because he isn't authorized to speak in detail about the matter.

The official said that as of Thursday night, nothing of concern had been found.

"Although we have no specific threat information at this time, we remind everyone to remain vigilant and report any suspicious activity to the appropriate authorities," FBI spokesman Richard Kolko said in a more general statement. Video Watch militant leader threaten Israel »

Imad Mughniyeh, a senior Hezbollah terrorist commander, died Tuesday. Before the rise of Osama bin Laden and his al Qaeda organization, Mughniyeh was the terrorist considered responsible for the deaths of the greatest number of Americans around the world.

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In Washington on Wednesday, several top U.S. officials expressed relief at the news of Mughniyeh's death. He allegedly was a player in the 1983 bombing of the U.S. Marine barracks in Beirut, Lebanon, which killed 241 U.S. service members, and U.S. officials believed him to be behind many other attacks.

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He eluded capture for 25 years.

Hezbollah leaders have blamed Israel for Mughniyeh's death and declared war on the Jewish state. Israel has denied involvement in the assassination. E-mail to a friend E-mail to a friend

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