Allah's Army
Supporters of Hizbollah, the fanatical Shiite radicals of the Party of God, believe it is their religious duty to destroy the state of Israel, and they welcome death as a heroic act of dedication to their god.
Followers of the late Ayotollah Khomeini of Iran, they were responsible for the capture and detention of western hostages. They are based in Beirut and southern Lebanon and control what is effectively a mini-state on Israel's borders. They remain implacably opposed to the peace deal between the Palestine Liberation Organisation and Israel, and after the Hebron massacre their brand of defiant antagonism towards the Jewish state is finding support elsewhere in the Arab world. There can be no peace in the Middle East while they continue to have influence.
The BBC's Middle East correspondent Stephen Sackur reports from behind the lines of Allah's army. His film includes the first interview with one of the men who held the British hostages captive. Producer Phil Rees Editor Keith Bowers