2 Hezbollah terrorists arrested

The Department of Justice announced that they had arrested two Hezbollah terrorists, Ali Kourani, 32, of the Bronx, New York, and Samer el Debek, 37, of Dearborn, Michigan, who were planning to attack the US and Israeli embassies in Panama, the Panama Canal and law enforcement in the US.

Acting U.S. Attorney Kim said: “Today, we announce serious terrorism charges against two men who allegedly trained with and supported the Islamic Jihad Organization, a component of the foreign terrorist organization Hizballah. Recruited as Hizballah operatives, Samer El Debek and Ali Kourani allegedly received military-style training, including in the use of weapons like rocket-propelled grenade launchers and machine guns for use in support of the group’s terrorist mission. At the direction of his Hizballah handlers, El Debek allegedly conducted missions in Panama to locate the U.S. and Israeli Embassies and to assess the vulnerabilities of the Panama Canal and ships in the Canal. Kourani allegedly conducted surveillance of potential targets in America, including military and law enforcement facilities in New York City. Thanks to the outstanding work of the FBI and NYPD, the allegedly destructive designs of these two Hizballah operatives have been thwarted, and they will now face justice in a Manhattan federal court.”

You remember Hezbollah, right? They’re the Iranian-backed group in Lebanon who busy themselves by firing rockets into Israel. Lately, they’ve been fighting ISIS and the government forces of Syria under the direction of Iran. When Hugo Chavez kicked the Christian missionaries out of Venezuela, he allowed Hezbollah fill their void among the indigenous people. I guess they’re planning to use some ISIS tactics in the West.

Kourani, arrested in New York, immigrated with his family in 2000, and returned to Lebanon where he joined Hezbollah in 2006.

In August 2008, Kourani submitted an application for naturalization in the U.S. in which he falsely claimed, among other things, that he was not affiliated with a terrorist organization. In April 2009, Kourani became a naturalized citizen and was issued a U.S. passport.

el Debek, arrested in Michigan, was a naturalized US citizen and was a salaried Hezbollah employee since about 2008.

El Debek first traveled to Panama for Hizballah in 2011, where his operational tasks included locating the U.S. and Israeli Embassies, casing security procedures at the Panama Canal and the Israeli Embassy, and locating hardware stores where explosive precursors could be purchased. Shortly before traveling to Panama, el Debek updated his status on Facebook with a post that read, in part, “Do not make peace or share food with those who killed your people.”

In early 2012, el Debek again traveled to Panama for Hizballah, passing through New York and New Jersey, and was asked to identify areas of weakness and construction at the Panama Canal, as well as provide information about how close someone could get to a ship passing through the Canal. Upon his return from Panama, el Debek’s IJO handlers asked him for photographs of the U.S. Embassy there and details about its security procedures.

Now we know what Iran did with their windfall pallets of cash.

Category: Terror War