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Kuwait arrests 24 amid 'terror financing' probe

Kuwait arrests 24 people, including former lawmakers, over 'financing of terror'
MENA
2 min read
Kuwait's interior ministry said those arrested, which includes five former lawmakers, were in possession of 'financial sums linked to illicit activities.
Kuwait has previously arrested several individuals with alleged links to Hezbollah amid the escalation of the US-Iran war in the Gulf [Getty/file photo]

Kuwait has arrested 24 people as part of an investigation into the "financing of terrorist entities", authorities said late on Saturday, without revealing who was involved.

A security source told AFP that five former Kuwaiti lawmakers were among those detained.

Since Iran began attacking Kuwait and other Gulf states last month as part of the Middle East war, authorities across the region have moved against individuals and organisations suspected of links to or supporting Tehran.

Kuwait's interior ministry on Saturday did not mention any particular country or organisation but said it had "thwarted a plot targeting the undermining of the homeland's security and the financing of terrorist entities and organisations".

"The State Security Agency succeeded in apprehending 24 citizens, one of whom had his citizenship revoked, in possession of financial sums linked to illicit activities," it added in a statement on X.

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The ministry said the financing was "part of an organised activity involving the collection of funds under religious pretexts... in preparation for their transfer in accordance with instructions from outside the country".

In March, Kuwait arrested six people linked to Lebanon's Iran-backed Hezbollah group who it said were planning "assassinations" in the Gulf state.

Hezbollah has repeatedly denied having any presence in Kuwait.