Hezbollah denies training Iraqis

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Lebanese militant group Hezbollah has denied allegations by US intelligence officials that it has given training to members of Iraqi militias.

Hezbollah spokesman Hussein Rahal said the accusations were baseless and reflected attempts to blame others for "the disastrous situation in Iraq".

A US newspaper quoted an intelligence official saying 1,000-2,000 Shia militiamen had trained in Lebanon.

Most were from the anti-US militia the Mehdi army, the US official said.

The official said the alleged links between Hezbollah and the Iraqi militias had been facilitated by Iran.

"We are accustomed to US accusations," Mr Rahal said in an interview with al-Jazeera television.

"It seems that the disastrous situation of the US army in Iraq has forced them to blame others for their own problems."