BEIRUT — More than 40 people were reportedly arrested in connection with Wednesday's shooting attack on the U.S. Embassy in Lebanon.

Former mayor of Majdal Anjar Said Yassin told L'Orient Today that by Saturday morning 42 people were detained in the investigation, while the mufti of Zahle and Western Bekaa issued a statement Saturday saying "more than 40" arrests had been made. On Saturday evening, Yassin reported that several of those arrested had already been released.

On Friday, 21 arrests were reported in connection with the incident. A spokesperson for the Lebanese Army was not immediately available for comment Saturday when contacted by L'Orient Today to confirm the new numbers being reported.

The investigation into last Wednesday's attack by a Syrian man residing in the locality of Souairi, near Majdal Anjar, in Bekaa, is ongoing. The man was seriously wounded during the attack and remains in a critical condition at the hospital.

Initially, the army arrested five suspects in the Majdal Anjar area (Bekaa), three of whom were close to the shooter, including his brother and an imam. Explosive devices and bomb-making materials were allegedly found at the brother's residence, a security source told L'Orient Today's correspondent in the Bekaa.

The dozens now reportedly arrested in the case were taken from Majdal Anjar as well as nearby villages, Yassin told L'Orient Today. It remains unclear when these arrests took place. 

On Saturday, a meeting was held at Dar al-Fatwa in the Bekaa, headed by the mufti of Zahle and Western Bekaa, Ali al-Ghazawi, to discuss the arrests. In a statement following the meeting, Dar al-Fatwa called on the security services "to quickly investigate the truth in order to release those who are innocent."

Dar al-Fatwa also stressed that "maintaining the security of embassies in Lebanon is part of preserving our institutions and our relationship with countries."

The U.S. Embassy, located in a secure complex in Awkar, assured that all its staff were safe following the shooting on Wednesday; however, one of its Lebanese employees was slightly wounded in his eye. While security sources refused to speculate on the suspect's motivations, a photo circulating online, purporting to be of the alleged shooter, shows him wearing a bullet-proof vest bearing the Islamic State group insignia. L'Orient Today was unable to verify the authenticity of the photo.

When asked by a reporter during a press conference in Washington about the identity of the shooter, U.S. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said, "We know that the individual who was arrested was wearing what appears to be insignia of the Islamic State, but we are conducting a thorough investigation with Lebanese authorities."

In September, a 26-year-old Lebanese man armed with a Kalashnikov fired over a dozen bullets at the U.S. Embassy building one night. No one was injured. The man was arrested and, according to the police, confessed to shooting in "revenge" for having been humiliated by security personnel.

The incident took place 39 years to the day after a car bomb attack, blamed on Hezbollah, outside an annex of the U.S. Embassy in Beirut, which left 11 dead and dozens injured.

Sarah Abdallah contributed to this report.