Lebanese soldiers patrol the streets of Tripoli in northern Lebanon on December 4, 2013. (Credit: Ibrahim Chalhoub / AFP)
BEIRUT — The Lebanese Army announced on Tuesday the arrest of a Lebanese man suspected of being an "agent in the service of a foreign entity," following an explosion in a home in the southern suburbs of Beirut.
According to the Lebanese Army statement, the man (M.G.) was preparing to make an explosive device in his apartment but was apprehended by military intelligence after an explosion occurred in his home on March 27. He was arrested in the Sfeir neighborhood of Beirut.
Suspected link to another suspect
Following a search of the home, raw materials used to manufacture explosives were found. After questioning the suspect, the army said he was linked to another Lebanese man, M.B., who was arrested on March 27 in Aramoun, under suspicions that he was spying for Israel. According to the Lebanese Army, M.B. had purchased materials used to manufacture explosives which he intended to deliver to M.G.
M.G. planned to commit "criminal acts in different places [in Lebanon], on the orders of foreign sponsors," the statement also said.
Contacted on Tuesday by L'Orient-Le Jour, a senior Lebanese Army official who requested anonymity, said he could not disclose more information on the identity of the alleged foreign sponsors of the plot. The Army official explained that the army is waiting for the investigation to end before confirming or denying the link to Israeli intelligence services.
Since 2019, Lebanon has been in the grip of an economic crisis that continues to worsen by the day. In 2022, the security forces announced that they had arrested 185 people suspected of "collaboration" with Israel since 2019, a record number that mainly involves military and telecommunications employees.