Ansar Allah remained unheard from for almost 9 years after these initial attacks until its bombing of the Lebanese TV station Future TV, regarded as loyal to Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.  This attack may provide further evidence of the relationship between Ansar Allah and Hezbollah.  Ansar Allah is reportedly now under the command of Sobhi Tufaili, the former secretary general of Hezbollah who was expelled from the organization in 1998.  Sobhi, who was also targeted by the Hariri regime, led his followers against Hezbollah and armed conflicts have occurred between the two groups.  The split between Tufaili and current Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah has its roots in the conflict between Hezbollah's two patrons, Iran and Syria.  Syria has backed Sobhi as a means of complying with US pressure to restrain Hezbollah's influence, which they believe Tufaili's challenge to Nasrallah can accomplish.  Iran remains faithful to Nasrallah and resists US pressure to reign in the group.

Army of the Followers of Sunni Islam -- Suspected Alias/Ally
Jaish al-Taifa al-Mansoura -- Splinter Group (Suspected)

Ansar al-Sunnah (Followers of the Tradition) is an Iraqi Jihadist group, dedicated to the establishment of an Islamic state based on Shari'ah in Iraq, which they aim to achieve by the defeat of coalition forces and foreign occupation.  They believe that jihad in Iraq has become obligatory for Muslims. The group's membership is varied, and is comprised of operatives from the Kurdish terrorist organization Ansar al-Islam, foreign al-Qaeda <br />operatives, and Iraqi Sunnis.  <br /><P><br />Targets have included coalition military personnel, members of the Iraqi National Guard, new Iraqi governmental institutions, and Kurdish political establishments, which the group sees as puppet regimes of the American occupation. Ansar al-Islam itself claims to have carried out a total of 285 attacks since May, 2003, killing 1,155 and injuring 160, although many of its claims are unsubstantiated. The group has also threatened to strike US forces with a missile they call the "Khattab-2." The group is reportedly responsible for the kidnapping of a group of Nepalese contractors, as well as the beheading of an Iraqi military officer, a tape of which was distributed on the internet in November, 2004.