Argentina arrests two men with suspected links to Hezbollah

Police in Argentina arrested two men suspected of ties to Lebanon’s Hezbollah movement based on information provided by local Jews.

The two brothers in their twenties, Axel Ezequiel Abraham Salomon and Kevin Gamal Abraham Salomon, were arrested Thursday in the capital, Buenos Aires. Police discovered a small arsenal that included a rifle, one shotgun and a number of pistols, among other weapons, Reuters reported.

DAIA, the umbrella group of Argentine Jewish communities, received an anonymous tip about the brothers in January, which it reported to police. Federal judge Sebastian Ramos subsequently ordered the arrests.

Earlier this year, Argentina froze assets of a suspected Hezbollah fundraising network.

Suspected Hezbollah operative Assad Ahmad Barakat was subsequently arrested near Brazil’s border with Argentina and Paraguay.

Buenos Aires is scheduled to host this month the G20 summit.

Police said they discovered evidence of travel abroad “along with credentials in Arabic and an image of the Hezbollah flag”.

Police did not specify the nature of the travel or credentials, and did not say whether the men had intention of attacking the G20 event.

Security Minister Patricia Bullrich said on Thursday security forces were on the lookout for any suspicious activity ahead of the conference