Israeli military claims brother of man who attacked Michigan synagogue was Hezbollah commander

JERUSALEM (AP) — The brother of a man who attacked a Michigan synagogue last week, who was killed earlier this month in an Israeli airstrike, was a Hezbollah commander, Israel’s military claimed Sunday.

Ibrahim Ghazali was killed in Lebanon along with three other of the attacker’s relatives on March 5 — a week before authorities allege Ayman Mohamad Ghazali drove his car into a major synagogue outside Detroit and killed himself after security fired at him.

The FBI’s Detroit office, which is investigating the synagogue attack, declined to comment on the claims by Israel’s military about Ibrahim Ghazali.

“Out of respect for the ongoing investigation, we will continue to refrain from commenting on its substance,” FBI spokesman Jordan Hall said in an email Sunday.

The Israeli military alleges Ibrahim Ghazali was a Hezbollah commander who managed weapons for a unit that fired rockets at Israel.

A Lebanese official, who requested anonymity because he could not publicly discuss details of the airstrike, has confirmed Ibrahim Ghazali’s death. The official told The Associated Press that Ghazali’s children, Ali and Fatima, and brother, Kassim, were also killed in the strike that struck their home just after sunset.