The Justice Department announced on Thursday that two men in the United States, one in the New York and the other in Michigan, have been arrested for supporting the terrorist organization Hezbollah.

Both men allegedly received military and explosives training in Lebanon as Hezbollah recruits (also spelled “Hizballah”).

The defendants are 32-year-old Ali Kourani of the Bronx and 37-year-old Samer el Debek of Dearborn, Michigan.

“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,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Joon H. Kim.

“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,” Kim continued.

“As part of his work for Hezbollah, Kourani and others allegedly conducted covert surveillance of potential targets, including U.S. military bases and Israeli military personnel here in New York City,” said NYPD Commissioner James P. O’Neill. “Pre-operational surveillance is one of the hallmarks of Hezbollah in planning for future attacks. As alleged, Kourani, on at least two occasions, received sophisticated military training overseas, including the use of a rocket propelled grenade. In addition, El Debek is charged in an unrelated complaint, for allegedly possessing extensive bomb making training received from Hezbollah.”

The charges against Kourani and El Debek include weapons offenses “alleged to have involved, among other weapons, a rocket-propelled grenade launcher and machine guns.”

Kourani was born in Lebanon and is said to have received Hezbollah-sponsored weapons training there before legally entering the United States in 2003. Along with some of his relatives, he was present in Lebanon during the 2006 battle between Israel and Hezbollah. After a home belonging to his family was destroyed in the conflict, he joined the Islamic Jihad Organization, a wing of Hezbollah that handles terrorist attacks on foreign soil. He remained in contact with his Islamic Jihad handlers through a coded communication system.

El Debek was a paid employee of Hezbollah from 2008 through 2015, receiving his military training from the terrorist organization during that time. He has been assessed by FBI technicians as an expert bomb maker. He did field work for Hezbollah in Thailand and Panama, traveling on his U.S. passport. His tasks in Panama included sizing up the Panama Canal and U.S. Embassy for terrorist attacks.

FBI agents said El Debek told them he was once arrested by Hezbollah and imprisoned for several months because the terrorist gang thought he might be an American spy.

The two were not engaged in an active terrorist plot at the time of their arrest, but they are said to have scouted targets including LaGuardia Airport and the FBI headquarters building in New York City.