US court awards over $110 million to Americans wounded by Hezbollah rockets

A U.S. States court has ordered the Lebanon-based militant group Hezbollah to pay $111 million in damages to Americans who filed a lawsuit arguing they were wounded by the terrorist organization's rockets in 2006 during a war against Israel.

U.S. Magistrate Judge for the Eastern District of New York Steven Tiscione on Friday said the plaintiffs were able to establish that Hezbollah, a Designated Foreign Terrorist Organization backed by Iran, violated the Anti-Terrorism Act and could hold the group liable.

Bringing the case under the U.S. Anti-Terrorism Act, the American plaintiffs said Hezbollah damaged their property and caused them physical and emotional injury, The Associated Press reported. 

"Only by exacting a heavy price from those who engage in the business of terrorism can we prevent the suffering and loss of additional victims to their violence," said Nitsana Darshan-Leitner, an attorney who represented the Americans.

A spokesperson for Hezbollah declined to comment.

Israel and Hezbollah fought for a month in 2006, and Israel still considers the heavily-armed militant group a major threat.