Attack on Michigan synagogue was Hezbollah-inspired ‘act of terrorism,’ FBI says

The FBI said on Monday that an attack on the largest Jewish temple in Michigan earlier this month was an “act of ​terrorism” inspired by Hezbollah.

Ayman Ghazali, a 41-year-old man who was born in ‌Lebanon and became a U.S. citizen in 2016, killed himself during the March 12 attack, when he crashed his truck into the Temple of Israel synagogue before opening fire on ​security guards and causing an explosion using fireworks, said Jennifer Runyan, the ​special agent in charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s ⁠Detroit field office.

No one else died during the attack on the synagogue where ​children were attending preschool.
Ghazali consumed pro-Hezbollah ideology prior to the attack, said Runyan, ​but the FBI has not been able to verify if he was a member of Hezbollah. There is no evidence that he had co-conspirators, Runyan said.

Lebanese armed group Hezbollah was founded ​by Iran’s elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in 1982. Both Hezbollah and ​the IRGC are designated as foreign terrorist organizations by the U.S. The U.S. and Israel launched a ‌war ⁠against Iran on February 28.

Read more: Reuters