A number of gaskets of B7 launchers without detonators found near a church in Telya, in Baalbeck. (Courtesy of: Sarah Abdallah)
BEIRUT — B7 explosive charges were found Wednesday evening without their detonators next to a church in Telya, southwest of Baalbeck, alongside a piece of paper with the handwritten words "To the Patriarch," L'Orient Today's correspondent in the region reported.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, a security source speculated that the incident could be a response to a statement made last Sunday by Maronite Patriarch Bechara al-Rai in which he condemned clashes last week in Haour Taala, another Baalbeck town, between wanted suspects and the army.
Three members of the army died in the clashes. Rai called the security services to respond with "an iron fist."
After the explosives were spotted, a Lebanese Army Intelligence patrol and the Engineering Regiment cordoned the church and inspected the charges before dismantling them, our correspondent reported.
Personal weapons are widespread in the Bekaa region, where there are sometimes shootouts between the military and suspected criminals or members of heavily armed clans.
In January, Internal Security Forces arrested a man suspected of vandalizing a church in Jbeil, though asserted that "there was no political or religious background" to the incident.
Reporting contributed by Sarah Abdallah