Kuwait says arrested 10 Hezbollah members, thwarting 'terrorist' plot
Kuwait arrested 10 militants affiliated with the Iran-backed Lebanese Hezbollah group on Wednesday, who were accused of plotting "terrorist" actions against vital infrastructure, the interior ministry said.
This was the second Hezbollah-affiliated cell to be arrested in Kuwait this week, as the Gulf faced daily Iranian attacks during the Middle East war, which has seen Tehran-backed groups including Hezbollah join the conflict.
"The State Security Agency has successfully thwarted a plot for a terrorist operation targeting vital installations," the interior ministry said.
"Ten citizens, members of a terrorist group affiliated with the banned Hezbollah terrorist organization were apprehended," it added.
The ministry shared a video of seized items including Hezbollah flags, small drones and pictures of Iran's slain Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and Hezbollah's former leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, killed in an Israeli attack.
On Monday, Kuwait's interior ministry said it arrested 16 people -- 14 Kuwaitis and two Lebanese nationals -- affiliated with Hezbollah who had planned a "sabotage plot".
The ministry said the group had sought to recruit individuals and that it seized a number of weapons, camera drones and morse code communication devices.
Hezbollah denied that any of its members were among the 16 arrested.
In previous years, Lebanon has faced tensions with Gulf states including Kuwait, which have expressed concern about Hezbollah's influence on the Mediterranean country.
About one-third of Kuwait's local population belongs to the Shia branch of Islam, as do most Iranians.
Lebanon was drawn into the Middle East war on March 2 when Hezbollah attacked Israel in response to the killing of Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in U.S.-Israeli strikes.
Source: Agence France Presse
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