Beirut bombing: Lebanese authorities arrest nine people over twin bombings
- 8 years ago
Lebanese security forces have arrested nine people, most of them Syrian nationals, over last week's twin bombings in Beirut that killed 44 people, the interior minister said.
"Until now the detained include seven Syrians and two Lebanese, one of them a (would-be) suicide bomber and the other a trafficker who smuggled them across the border from Syria," interior minister Nuhad Mashnuq said in a televised press conference.
The bombings in a busy residential and commercial area that is a stronghold for Lebanese Shiite movement Hezbollah were claimed by the Islamic State (IS) militant group, which has also claimed the coordinated Paris attacks.
"The whole suicide bombing network and its supporters were arrested in the 48 hours following the explosion," Mr Mashnuq said.
The explosions were the first attacks in more than a year to target a Hezbollah stronghold in Lebanon, as the Iran-backed group steps up its involvement in the war in neighbouring Syria.
"Until now the detained include seven Syrians and two Lebanese, one of them a (would-be) suicide bomber and the other a trafficker who smuggled them across the border from Syria," interior minister Nuhad Mashnuq said in a televised press conference.
The bombings in a busy residential and commercial area that is a stronghold for Lebanese Shiite movement Hezbollah were claimed by the Islamic State (IS) militant group, which has also claimed the coordinated Paris attacks.
"The whole suicide bombing network and its supporters were arrested in the 48 hours following the explosion," Mr Mashnuq said.
The explosions were the first attacks in more than a year to target a Hezbollah stronghold in Lebanon, as the Iran-backed group steps up its involvement in the war in neighbouring Syria.