Kuwait says it foiled ‘Hezbollah-linked’ plot targeting state leaders

ISTANBUL

Kuwait said Wednesday it had foiled what it described as a plot targeting state leaders and uncovered a network allegedly linked to Lebanon’s Hezbollah group.

In a statement, the Interior Ministry said the state security apparatus thwarted the plan after extensive surveillance and security monitoring operations.

Authorities arrested six suspects inside Kuwait, including five Kuwaiti nationals and one non-Kuwaiti whose citizenship had been revoked, while 14 other suspects remain abroad, according to the ministry.

The ministry said the suspects include five Kuwaiti nationals, five individuals whose Kuwaiti citizenship had been revoked, two Iranian nationals and two Lebanese nationals.

According to the statement, the network was linked to what the ministry described as the banned Hezbollah organization and had planned assassination operations targeting state leaders, while also recruiting individuals to carry out the attacks.

Authorities said the suspects admitted to joining the group and communicating with its members, and expressed readiness to carry out assignments aimed at harming the country’s leadership and national interests.

The ministry added that the suspects also confessed to receiving advanced military training abroad, including the use of weapons and explosives, surveillance methods and assassination techniques.

Hezbollah did not immediately comment on the accusations, though it has denied similar allegations in recent days.

Last week, the Interior Ministry said it had foiled what it described as a terror plot targeting vital facilities in the country following security surveillance and investigations, announcing the arrest of 10 Kuwaiti nationals it said were linked to Hezbollah.

Ten days earlier, the ministry also announced the dismantling of another group composed of 14 Kuwaiti nationals and two Lebanese nationals, whom authorities accused of ties to Hezbollah and plotting acts aimed at destabilizing the country and undermining its sovereignty.

At the time, Lebanon strongly condemned the alleged plot and Hezbollah’s involvement, while the group denied the accusations, describing them as “false and baseless allegations.”

*Writing by Tarek Chouiref