The US on Friday designated a senior Hezbollah operative accused of masterminding the deadly 1994 attack on what was Latin America’s largest Jewish community centre, Anadolu Agency reports.

The Treasury Department said Salman Raouf Salman is a senior member of Hezbollah’s External Security Organisation, and he coordinated the attack on the Asociacion Mutual Israelita Argentina (AMIA) in Buenos Aires that killed 85 victims.

Hundreds more were injured and the building itself was completely destroyed after a bomb-laden van smashed through it before exploding.

The terrorist attack is the largest in Argentina’s history. It remains unresolved, but the U.S. has pointed at Iran and Hezbollah as bearing responsibility.

“This Administration will continue to target Hezbollah terrorists who plot horrific murderous operations and indiscriminately kill innocent civilians on behalf of this violent group and its Iranian patrons,” Sigal Mandelker, the Treasury Department’s terrorism intelligence chief, said in a statement using an alternate spelling for Hezbollah.

The State Department further offered $7 million for information leading to Salman’s identification or location under its Rewards for Justice program.

The Treasury accused Salman of providing “all necessary support to perpetrate the terrorist attack against the AMIA building,” and said he coordinated Hezbollah sleeper cells in Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay.

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Argentinian authorities designated Hezbollah, which it blames for two attacks on its soil, a terrorist organisation yesterday and ordered the freezing of the Lebanese Islamist group’s assets in the country, Reuters reported. The announcement coincided with a visit by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo as Argentina marks the 25th anniversary of the deadly bombing of a Jewish community centre in Buenos Aires in which 85 people died. Argentina blames Iran and Hezbollah for the attack. Both deny any responsibility.

If the U.S. goes to war with Iran, we won’t just be fighting the Iranian military.  In recent years, Hezbollah has grown into the most powerful terror organization that the world has ever seen.  It is best known for causing all sorts of chaos in the Middle East, but today it has an extensive presence in Europe, Africa, Latin America and North America...