Spain arrests alleged Hezbollah operatives

Spanish security forces have arrested three people in Barcelona suspected of links to Hezbollah as part of an international counter-terrorism operation across several European countries.

The operation is linked to previous arrests made in July 2024, local news agency EFE reported, citing sources close to the investigation. Those arrests led to a Lebanese national being jailed for purchasing material to make weapons that “could be used against civilian and military targets in Israel and Europe”.

Last summer’s operation centred on suspicions the group was involved in the construction of over 1,000 explosive drones. Three suspects were arrested in Barcelona and Badalona, and another was detained in Germany.

The operation followed the discovery by Spanish authorities of large quantities of materials suitable for building such drones.