DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Kuwaiti police briefly detained and questioned two men designated by the U.S. Treasury Department as financiers of terror groups operating in Iraq and Syria, a lawyer and a security official said Thursday, amid mounting pressure from Washington on its Gulf ally to curb the flow of such funds.

U.S. Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence David Cohen has described Kuwait as the “epicenter” of fundraising for terrorist groups in Syria and earlier this month called on the Kuwaiti government to do more to disrupt such financing.