Army seizes weapons truck in Baalbeck

BAALBECK — A military intelligence patrol seized a truck loaded with weapons and ammunition seized on Friday in Baalbeck’s al-Shaab district, in northern Bekaa, the Lebanese Army announced in a statement. 

Narcotics were also discovered in the vehicle, with no indication of who was behind the operation.

In the same statement, the army said that a patrol arrested a Lebanese civilian in the Younin area of Baalbeck, and seized weapons and ammunition that were in his possession. Another patrol arrested a Lebanese and a Syrian national carrying weapons and ammunition during a search in the Tibeh area, also in Baalbeck. 

Army patrols are planning a series of inspections throughout Friday in the Baalbeck region. 

The vaguely demarcated Syrian-Lebanese border in northern Lebanon has been the site of deadly clashes between new Syrian forces and Lebanese clans in recent months, as the former cracks down on smuggling routes formerly used by Hezbollah, which was an ally of the previous Syrian regime. The Lebanese Army, on more than one occasion, stepped into to facilitate a halt in hostilities.

Reporting contributed by L’Orient Today’s correspondent in the Bekaa, Sarah Abdallah.