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Germany arrests two suspected Hezbollah members over 'recruiting activities'

Germany designated the Lebanese militant group a terror organization in 2020 and has seen its relations with Iran sour in the last year.

Militants with the Lebanese Shiite movement Hezbollah, parade in Beirut's southern suburbs on April 14, 2023, to mark Al-Quds (Jerusalem) Day, a commemoration in support of the Palestinian people celebrated annually on the last Friday of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan. (Photo by ANWAR AMRO / AFP) (Photo by ANWAR AMRO/AFP via Getty Images)
Militants with the Lebanese Shiite movement Hezbollah parade in Beirut's southern suburbs on April 14, 2023, to mark Al-Quds (Jerusalem) Day. — ANWAR AMRO/AFP via Getty Images

BEIRUT — German authorities announced on Wednesday the arrest of two suspected members of the Lebanese Iran-funded Hezbollah group, which Germany designated a terror organization in 2020.

The German Federal Prosecutor's office said in a statement that the pair were arrested in northern Germany on suspicions of recruiting and organizing activities for the Shiite militant group. They face charges of belonging to a foreign terrorist organization.

The statement identified the suspects as Lebanese national Hassan M. and German-Lebanese dual citizen Abdul-Latif W. 

Hassan M. has been a member of the group’s Department for External Relations since 2016 and was in charge of providing logistic and ideological support for Lebanese associations in northern Germany, according to the statement.

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