The Lebanese group Hezbollah denied yesterday that it was training fighters from the Mehdi Army, an Iraqi Shiite militia blamed in sectarian killings in the war-torn country. The New York Times on Monday quoted a senior US intelligence official who said the Iranian-backed Hezbollah had been providing training for the Mehdi Army. The anonymous official told the Times that 1,000 to 2,000 Shiite fighters had been trained by Hezbollah in Lebanon and in Iran. Hussain Rahhal, Hezbollah's media chief, called the report baseless, saying it was part of a US intelligence campaign circulated by the American media to vilify the group. "These accusations are hollow and worthless. They reflect the American occupation's impasse in Iraq, where it is trying to blame others for its defeat," Rahhal told The Associated Press.