Hezbollah under siege, from Kuwait to Ecuador

Kuwait's Interior Ministry has announced the dismantling of a 20-member terrorist network linked to Hezbollah, including Kuwaiti, Iranian, Lebanese and other nationals. Six suspects have been arrested while 14 others fled abroad.

According to authorities, the cell was planning assassinations of senior state figures and recruiting operatives to carry out the missions. Suspects confessed to espionage and receiving advanced military training abroad from Hezbollah commanders, including weapons handling, explosives, surveillance techniques and assassination skills.

This is the second such cell neutralized in Kuwait within a fortnight. Two weeks ago, authorities arrested another Hezbollah-affiliated group — allegations the Iran-backed militia denied.

The arrests are part of a broader pattern. In Ecuador, authorities have detained a Syrian national identified by the United States as a Hezbollah terrorist. The suspect had previously been arrested in 2005 for running a drug trafficking network that funneled millions of dollars to Hezbollah, before being provisionally released in 2012.

The string of arrests across two continents underscores the global reach of Hezbollah's networks,  and the growing determination of governments to dismantle them.