Cyprus believes it thwarted a Hezbollah plot to attack Israelis or Jews, the country's foreign minister said on Monday after bomb-making material was uncovered in a house in Cyprus. A 26-year-old Lebanese-Canadian man is currently in custody in connection to a massive amount of ammonium nitrate discovered in the basement of a home in Larnaca last month. On Monday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met in Jerusalem with visiting Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades. At the start of their meeting, Netanyahu remarked on the incident, saying, "You and Cyprus have already suffered three terrorist plots, including the recent uncovering of an apartment with an enormous amount of ammonium nitrate, a very dangerous explosive. "We are suffering from terrorism in this region. A lot of this terrorism in the region and beyond the region is fomented by Iran that, along with its henchmen in Hezbollah, operates a worldwide terrorism network of over 30 countries in five continents." Earlier this month, Israel said Cyprus had informed Israeli officials that the fertilizer was to be used for bombs by Hezbollah, a Lebanese militia hostile to Israel, and that Israelis or Jews in Cyprus may have been intended targets. Asked about that account, Cypriot Foreign Minister Ioannis Kasoulides, who is also visiting Israel, said: "The information you mentioned is correct." "In a couple of days, this case may probably go in front of the courts. Therefore, I am not permitted to make any comments or assumptions because this may damage the prosecution's case. But your information that you mentioned is correct," said Kasoulides. Asked whether a Hezbollah bomb plot had indeed been foiled, he said: "Most probably." Hezbollah officials in Beirut could not immediately be reached for comment. Kasoulides also confirmed rumors suggesting that would-be jihadis were using Cyprus as a transit point to Turkey, by arriving in government-controlled areas of the island, then heading into the Turkish-held north and from there traveling to Turkey. These rumors first surfaced in mid-2014. Authorities were aware of a "few" cases where prospective fighters volunteering to join Islamic State may have used Cyprus as a route to the insurgent group's Middle East fiefdoms. Authorities have stepped up screening processes, particularly for European passport holders, Kasoulides told Reuters in an interview in Jerusalem. "There were a few incidents of this route. Very few. But for this reason we have taken all additional measures of vigilance, particularly with European passport holders, in order to cut off such a route," Kasoulides said. Cyprus, which lies on the European Union's southeastern flank, has steered clear of the upheaval in the Middle East, even though it is less than 150 kilometers (93 miles) from Syria. Its last major security incident was a botched bomb attack against the Israeli Embassy in Nicosia in 1988 that killed three people.
Credit: Reuters
