A Hezbollah bomb plot against Israel or Jews “most probably” was foiled last month, the foreign minister of Cyprus said.
Cypriot police arrested a 26-year-old Lebanon native with a Canadian passport on May 27 after authorities discovered nearly two tons of ammonium nitrate — a fertilizer that in large quantities can be mixed with other substances to make a powerful explosive — in the basement of a house belonging to the man. The suspect remains in custody.
Foreign Minister Ioannis Kasoulides on June 15 confirmed the arrest and the discovery of the explosives, Reuters reported. Asked whether a Hezbollah bomb plot had indeed been foiled, Kasoulides said, “Most probably.”
The fertilizer was to be used by Hezbollah to create explosives to be used against Israelis or Jews on Cyprus, Cyprus authorities told Israel, according to Reuters.
“It does not look like there was an immediate terrorist action planned in connection with this haul,” an unnamed senior Israeli official told Reuters. — jta