Hezbollah meets Iarqi resistance delegation

An Iraqi delegation representing the resistance movement of firebrand cleric Sheikh Moqtada al-Sadr arrived in Lebanon over the weekend and met with a leading Hezbollah official in south Lebanon "as part of a visit to religious, national and political figures in Syria and Lebanon," according to An Nahar Sunday.

The delegation included Sheikh Abdel Hadi Daraji and Sheikh Hassan Zarqani. Daraji, speaking with Sheikh Nabil Kawouk, said there is no direct coordination between the Lebanese resistance and its Iraqi counterpart since each group has its own perspective and strategy.

Asked whether the Iraqi resistance has benefited from Hezbollah in some way or another, Daraji replied: "We have benefited from our own experience and moral support from outside." With respect to military cooperation, he added, "it does not exist since the Iraqis are capable of achieving victories on their own."

The paper said, Kawouk on his part, expressed Hezbollah's solidarity with the Iraqi people who are experiencing injustice. He lauded the Iraqis' efforts in confronting the enemy, which is attempting to incite sedition between the Iraqis. "We commend the Iraqis' mainly the Ulemas (scholars) awareness and cautiousness of the Israeli infiltration into Iraq. Israel has evil intentions towards the Iraqis," Kawouk was quoted as saying.