

On Tuesday, the US Director of the National Counter-terrorism Center Nicholas J. Rasmussen said he believed Hizballah was planning attacks in the US.



"It is our assessment that Hizballah is determined to give itself a potential homeland option as a critical component of its terrorism playbook," he told a press conference.



Hizballah were a key focus for US anti-terror efforts until the 11 September attacks in 2011, which saw the CIA's efforts focus primarily fall on Salafi-jihadi organisations such as al-Qaeda and later the Islamic State group.



With the proliferation of Iranian-backed militias in the region - such as Hizballah and the Fatimiyoun Brigades in Syria and the Hashd al-Shaabi in Iraq - some analysts have warned of a new threat to US allies and civilians from these armed groups.



Bad memories



The 1983 bombing of a Marines barracks in Beirut was the single biggest death toll in one day for US forces since the Second World War and led to a withdrawal of US forces out of war-torn Lebanon.

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It is believed to have been carried out by Hizballah with Syrian and Iranian regime support.



On Tuesday, Israel's far-right Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman described Lebanon's army as an "inseparable part" of Hizballah.



The Lebanese movement's leader Hassan Nasrallah has ramped up rhetoric against the US in recent months saying its actions were "aiding" the Islamic State group.



Iran has also seen a resurgence of conservative attempts to reassert control in the Tehran regime following a recent detente in relations with the US.



Hizballah and Iran have been key backers of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime with pro-Damascus forces winning back key areas in the country from opposition forces.



Hizballah's role in the war has been key and given it better supply links with backers Syria and Iran, more battlefield experience for its fighters, and new weaponry, analysts have said.



Israel has warned of Iran and Hizballah's presence in southern Syria launching air strikes on militants during the six-year war in the country.