Hezbollah to US citizen: 'Please go to Israel and plant bombs'

A Lebanese-born US citizen on the FBI’s most wanted list of terror suspects is accused of using a fake passport in an attempt to get into Israel and conduct a bombing on behalf of the Islamic militant group Hezbollah, according to an indictment unsealed in federal court in Detroit.

Faouzi Ayoub, 44, faces one count of passport fraud, according to the August 2009 indictment that was unsealed in US District Court in Detroit within the past week.

Federal prosecutors accuse Mr. Ayoub, whose last known US residence was in southeast Michigan, of using a passport under the name of Frank Mariano Boschi to enter Israel in October 2000. The indictment does not indicate whether authorities believe Mr. Ayoub participated in any bombing.

The FBI’s office in Detroit could not discuss the case Wednesday, say where Mr. Ayoub was believed to be now, or explain why the indictment was unsealed, spokeswoman Sandra Berchtold said. But she noted that he should be considered armed and dangerous and that anyone with information about him should contact their local FBI office, or nearest US embassy or consulate.

“Future indictments may be handed down as various investigations proceed in connection to other terrorist incidents,” according to a posting about Mr. Ayoub and others on the FBI’s website.

The US government classifies Hezbollah, which dominates the Lebanese government coalition, as a terrorist group. Hezbollah fought a 34-day war with Israel in 2006 that that left 1,200 Lebanese and 160 Israelis dead. Lebanon and Israel technically remain at war.

It was not clear how long Mr. Ayoub’s name had been on the FBI’s Most Wanted Terrorists, at the top of which is Egyptian Islamic Jihad founder Ayman Al Zawahiri, indicted for his alleged role in the 1998 embassy bombings in Tanzania and Kenya. The attacks killed 224 people.

Mr. Al Zawahiri’s group later merged with Al Qaeda.