The two detainees held in the so-called Hezbollah explosives case belong to the Hezbollah-affiliated Resistance Brigades, the Nidaa al-Watan newspaper reported on Monday.
It identified them as Haitham Amhaz, who hails from the town of Nabha, and Ali al-Kurdi, who hails from the town of Saadnayel, noting that the latter is the brother of the Brigades’ top official in Saadnayel.
The newspaper added that Hezbollah is “gathering explosive materials that were in the possession of groups from the Resistance Brigades because there is a need for them at this stage.”
The decision to create the Resistance Brigades was taken in 1997 by Hezbollah’s leadership. The group comprised Lebanese young men seeking to fight the Israeli occupation of south Lebanon without having to officially join Hezbollah.
The group, made up of largely non-Shiite members, was not disbanded after Israel’s withdrawal from the South in the year 2000 and Hezbollah’s rivals have in recent years accused the Brigades of recruiting “thugs” and individuals who have criminal records.