Word: hizballah
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...both ancient beauty and modern terror. Dominating the landscape are the magnificent, 2,000-year- old ruins of three Roman temples, their stone pillars rising high above the Bekaa Valley. Since 1983, Baalbek has also been under the control of the Shi'ite Muslim fundamentalist group known as Hizballah (Party of God), whose members claim allegiance to Iran. Operating under several different names, Hizballah is believed to have plotted the 1983 bombing of Marine headquarters in Beirut that killed 241 Americans. Since 1982, groups tied to Hizballah have kidnapped more than 30 Westerners in Lebanon, including more than a dozen...
...picture, most of Lebanon north of the Chouf Mountains is expected to enjoy relative peace. Several of the dozen or so militias that sprang up during the country's 15 years of civil war have promised to disband their forces and transform themselves into political parties. The pro-Iranian Hizballah, a Shi'ite extremist group that is thought to hold most of the Western hostages in Lebanon, feels threatened by the recent Syrian deployment in its stronghold, Beirut's southern suburbs. But given the importance Damascus attaches to its relations with Iran, especially in the midst of the effort...
...Khiam prison in southern Lebanon, 304 men and women are held in such cells by the South Lebanon Army, the Israeli-sponsored 2,500-man militia that rules Israel's self-proclaimed security zone. Most of the prisoners are Lebanese Shi'ites. Many are members of Hizballah, caught while attempting to attack SLA positions and patrols or Israeli border settlements. Some were arrested by the SLA security apparatus for interrogation. None have ever been charged or tried. Some will be released if their interrogators decide they are innocent. But for most, the only chance to get out will come when...
Although El Khiam is under the formal control of the SLA and its General Antoine Lahad, Israel holds the ultimate authority. TIME's visit was only the second permitted to journalists in six years. Israeli officials apparently hoped the publicity would remind Hizballah that Israel and the SLA hold high cards in the hostage game -- and are ready to deal...
...know I am a bargaining chip," says Ibrahim Bazi, 27, a Hizballah recruit from the town of Bint Jebeil. Like all the other prisoners, his black hair is cropped short and he wears a dark blue uniform and plastic slippers. His unshaven face reveals little emotion. "My only hope is that all hostages will be released and that I will be part of the deal...