BERLIN, April 30 (Xinhua) -- The German Interior Ministry said on Thursday it has banned Lebanon's Hezbollah movement from operating in Germany, calling it a terrorist organization.
Dozens of police and special forces stormed mosques and associations linked to Hezbollah in Bremen, Berlin, Dortmund and Muenster in the early hours of Thursday morning, German media reported.
"Police measures are underway in several federal states concurrently," a spokesperson for Germany's interior ministry tweeted Thursday, adding that, "Even in times of crisis, the rule of law is capable of acting."
Established in 1982 during Lebanon's civil war, Hezbollah is now a major political party in the country, and fought a war with Israel in 2006.
Germany's domestic intelligence agency estimates that about 1,050 people in the country are linked to Hezbollah.
The group,backed by the Islamic Shiite community, has long been designated as a terrorist group by the United States and Israel. Enditem
