The Bush administration has designated the Lebanese group Fatah al-Islam as a terrorist organization. For the past 12 weeks the militant group has been engaged in a bloody fight with the Lebanese military at a Palestinian refugee camp. At least 278 people have died, and 40,000 Palestinian refugees have been displaced. Prior to the outbreak in fighting, investigative reporter Seymour Hersh reported that the U.S. and Saudi governments have been covertly backing militant Sunni groups like Fatah al-Islam as part of an overarching foreign policy against Iran and growing Shiite influence in the Middle East.