KUWAIT: Eight Egyptian nationals have been arrested in Kuwait, accused of joining a terrorist cell and plotting attacks in Egypt, Kuwait’s Ministry of Interior announced today. Kuwait security forces arrested the men who are expected to be extradited to Egypt.

The Interior Ministry identified the terrorist cell as belonging to the Muslim Brotherhood, a powerful political Islamist organization banned in Egypt but with branches throughout the region. The cell, whose members were sentenced to serve up to 15 years in jail in Egypt on terrorism charges, have been hiding in Kuwait, according to investigations by Kuwaiti detectives who followed leads to locate its members and arrest them in different locations in the oil-rich Gulf state.

The suspects confessed during investigation to carrying out terror operations in Egypt, the interior ministry said. The men allegedly operated a charity in Kuwait, sourcing donations for the Muslim Brotherhood. Their names and photos have not yet been made public. Kuwait Interior investigations are still ongoing in search for accomplices who helped provide them shelter or cooperated with them.

The Egyptian government considers the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist organization. Mohammed Morsi, a Muslim Brotherhood leader who served as president of Egypt in 2012 during the tumultuous Arab Spring period died in court in mid-June.

There are more than 500,000 Egyptians living and working in Kuwait.

Written by Jamie Etheridge, translations by Ahmed Jaber