The leader of Lebanon's Hizbullah said Saturday the group was not connected to Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda network, but for "political reasons" rather than ideological ones.
"There is no relationship with al-Qaeda - not previously and not now -- and not for religious or ideological reasons but for political reasons," Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah told the Arabic satellite television channel MBC in an interview aired Friday.
"The issue is linked to the political program and the battle priorities," he said.
Nasrallah added he was not opposed to working with Sunni groups, saying Hizbullah has relationships with Palestinian Sunni groups. But he said the United States had no evidence to link Hizbullah with al-Qaeda.
"Until now, the American administration has not been able to present half a shred of evidence about the existence of a relationship of this type," he said. (Albawaba.com)
© 2002 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
