Envoy Waite Detained by Hezbollah Forces, Diplomatic Sources Say

WASHINGTON —  Anglican Church envoy Terry Waite is being detained by fundamentalist Hezbollah forces in Lebanon in a political tug-of-war between the militant Shia Muslim group, which has close ties to Iran, and Druze leader Walid Jumblatt, diplomatic sources said Friday.

Waite, who was working for the release of reporter Terry A. Anderson and educator Thomas M. Sutherland, has not been seen for 11 days.

Fears have been expressed in recent days over the fate of the veteran negotiator, but Church of England officials have for the most part issued optimistic updates.

In London, Church of England officials were not available for comment on the latest reports Friday, but a recorded telephone message taped by the church at 7 p.m. said: “We are in regular daily contact with our well-placed sources of information in Lebanon. We continue to receive assurances of Terry Waite’s well-being, but we have no information as to his exact whereabouts. That is the end of the statement.”

The diplomatic sources, who demanded anonymity, said the account of Waite’s detention, which is being circulated in Beirut, indicated that the churchman had not been harmed.

‘Links’ to Hezbollah

According to this account, Waite went to Lebanon on his latest rescue mission at the suggestion of Jumblatt, who had informed the churchman late last year that he had “links” to Hezbollah that might be helpful in the effort to liberate the two American hostages.

Anderson, the chief Middle East correspondent for Associated Press, was kidnaped by gunmen in West Beirut in March, 1985. Sutherland, dean of agriculture at the American University of Beirut, was seized by a half-dozen gunmen the following June. They are believed held by Islamic Jihad (Islamic Holy War), a Shia group that is believed to have ties both to Iran and to Hezbollah.

After a trip to Washington in December to talk with U.S. diplomats, Jumblatt met with Waite in London, the sources said. Waite then went to Beirut for an arranged meeting with Hezbollah. Waite was under the protection of Druze guards, but at some point--for unexplained reasons--they were dismissed.

Since then, Waite has been held by Hezbollah, his detention a pointed message to Jumblatt by Iran and other forces in Lebanon that are at odds with the Druze leader, the sources said. The Druze are on an offshoot sect of Islam.

Hezbollah Holding Others

Hezbollah (Party of God) is believed to be holding the three Americans taken hostage last Saturday in West Beirut. Three other American hostages apparently are held by another group, the sources said.

However, a statement was issued Thursday in the Lebanese capital by a group called the Islamic Jihad for the Liberation of Palestine threatening to kill the three latest American hostages and an Indian abducted with them.

In Lebanon, the latest edition of the weekly magazine Al Shiraa, which broke the story last November of secret U.S. arms shipments to Iran, quoted an unidentified ranking Muslim clergyman as saying, “There is a possibility that Waite was kidnaped.”

Under House Arrest

“Circles close to Muslim fundamentalists stressed that Waite is under house arrest,” the magazine said. Al Shiraa, which did not elaborate concerning Waite’s status, is known to have contacts with high Iranian officials.

The magazine achieved prominence in November when it published the first news of U.S. officials going to Iran in connection with arms sales to the Islamic Republic. The report prompted President Reagan to call it “that rag in Beirut.”

The Kuwait News Agency reported earlier this week that Waite was under house arrest.

British government and church officials have voiced growing concern over Waite’s safety since he disappeared from the seafront Riviera Hotel 12 days ago, apparently for a third face-to-face meeting with kidnapers.

Waite arrived in Beirut on Jan. 12 and has sought the release of Anderson and Sutherland as well as Briton John McCarthy and Irishman Brian Keenan.

Americans Warned

With the kidnaping of 11 foreigners in Muslim West Beirut in less than two weeks, the State Department on Wednesday declared Lebanon off-limits to Americans and advised the estimated 1,500 U.S. citizens in the country that their passports would not be valid for Lebanon if they did not leave within 30 days.

In Tunis, meanwhile, Palestine Liberation Organization official Salah Khalaf said $2 million was paid two months ago to secure the release of a U.S. hostage.

A close aide of PLO leader Yasser Arafat in charge of security affairs, Khalaf said the money was paid in cash by Waite for the release of David P. Jacobsen, who had been held by the Islamic Jihad for 17 months.

Khalaf said American firms had contributed to a fund intended to be used as ransom.

In Washington, State Department officials denied any knowledge of any ransom payments. “Our policy on this is well known--we do not pay ransom for hostages, and we don’t encourage anyone else to pay ransoms,” said one official.