The attack perpetrated in early March in a synagogue in Michigan, in the north of the United States, shortly after the start of the war against Iran, was apparently inspired “by Hezbollah,” an FBI official said on Monday.
“Based on the evidence collected to date, we believe this attack was a Hezbollah-inspired act of terrorism, deliberately targeting the Jewish community and Michigan’s largest synagogue,” Jennifer Runyan, FBI agent in charge of the Detroit office, said at a news conference.
The investigation continues after a man drove his vehicle into the gates of the Temple Israel synagogue – which bills itself as the largest Reform Jewish synagogue in the United States – in West Bloomfield.
No one was killed in the attack except the attacker, who committed suicide. However, a security guard was injured and several law enforcement officers had to be treated for smoke inhalation.
More than 140 children were inside the synagogue at the time.
The FBI representative detailed how the attacker, Ayman Mohamad Ghazali, searched for Jewish cultural, religious and educational centers in the Detroit area while purchasing materials for the attack.
She added that the man, aged 41, had sent a video message to his sister minutes before the attack in which he said: “This is the largest gathering of Israelis in the state of Michigan, USA. I’ve booby-trapped the car, I’m going to break in and start shooting at them. God willing, I will kill as many as possible.”
At the same press conference, Jerome Gorgon, federal prosecutor for the Eastern District of Michigan, asserted that Ghazali had acted “under the direction and control of Hezbollah.”
“Terrorist propaganda aims to incite ‘lone wolves’ to act on behalf of the terrorist organization,” added Mr. Gorgon.
The New York Times reported that Ghazali, born in Lebanon and arrived in Detroit in 2011, lost two of his brothers and nephews in an Israeli strike in Lebanon in early March.
Since the outbreak of war in the Middle East, several attacks classified as terrorists have been recorded in the United States. Anti-Semitic incidents and attacks have also increased there in recent years.
