Lebanon PM vows thorough investigation after explosives truck seized

Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said Monday that Lebanon will conduct a thorough investigation to track down suspected members of Hezbollah believed to be linked to the truck intercepted last week at the Dahr al-Baidar checkpoint. He described the incident as a criminal operation and praised security forces for capturing the vehicle on the main highway connecting Beirut with the Bekaa Valley. Information Minister Paul Morcos said the two people detained in the truck have been referred to judicial authorities and that security agencies will pursue others involved in the case.

Judicial officials told The Associated Press the truck carried 780 kilograms (1,720 pounds) of explosives, including 250 kilograms of TNT and 250 kilograms of C4 plastic explosives. The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with regulations, said the two detainees claimed they were only instructed to transport the material from Baalbek in the northeast to Beirut without knowing what it would be used for. They were supposed to hand it to a man south of Beirut identified by the nom de guerre Zulfiqar. Hezbollah has declined comment.

The Lebanese army said Monday that troops seized another shipment of explosives weighing 200 kilograms (440 pounds) as it was being smuggled from Syria into the northeastern border town of al-Qasr. The explosives were packed in bags, and the smugglers fled back into Syria after being discovered, the army said in a statement.

For years, Hezbollah moved weapons freely in parts of Lebanon. That changed in March, when the Lebanese government declared all military activities by the Iran-backed group illegal. The decision came hours after Hezbollah fired rockets into northern Israel, triggering a three-month war that killed nearly 4,000 people in Lebanon, according to the AP. The group fired the rockets two days after Israel and the United States launched a war on Iran, Hezbollah's main backer.

Morcos quoted Salam as saying he understood people's concerns about the shipment, noting that C4 explosives had been used in several infamous political assassinations in Lebanon's modern history. It remained unclear whether Hezbollah planned to use the explosives and pebbles in the fiber-optic drones it has been deploying against Israeli troops occupying parts of southern Lebanon.

Salam said during the meeting that Lebanese people should be confident the government would not hesitate to pursue and broaden the investigation to identify all those involved in the criminal operation and those behind them. According to Morcos, Salam said: 'Our government will not tolerate anyone who dares to tamper with the country's security, safety, and stability.' He added that the government would take firm action against the possession, transport or use of weapons outside state control.