2 Americans captured at Dahieh restaurant, handed over to army

Lebanese authorities are holding two U.S. citizens on suspicion of gathering information in Beirut's southern suburbs, considered a Hezbollah stronghold, officials said.

The U.S. citizens were carrying cameras and smartphones, and drew the suspicion of Hezbollah members who detained them before handing them over to Lebanon’s military intelligence for questioning. That’s according to two Lebanese judicial officials and a security official.

A U.S. Embassy official, when asked whether two Americans have been detained in Beirut, responded by saying: “We are aware of the case but have nothing further to add.”

All four officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak about the security matter with the media.

Lebanese newspaper Al-Akhbar, which is close to Hezbollah, first reported about the detention, saying two Americans in their early 30s were detained Tuesday at a shawarma restaurant close to a compound run by Hezbollah.

Al-Akhbar said the two men entered Lebanon on Monday, rented a car and were staying at a hotel in central Beirut.

The Lebanese judicial and security officials said the men went for two days to eat at restaurants in the southern suburbs of Beirut.

Iran-backed Hezbollah has deep support in Beirut’s southern suburbs and in the country’s south — areas that Israel repeatedly bombed last fall during the war with Hezbollah. A shaky ceasefire has been in effect since late November.