The Daily Star - Two arrested in army raid, arms cache seized - October 29, 2010

BEIRUT: Two people were arrested in the Bekaa town of Majdal Anjar Thursday and several explosive devices, including rockets, were found in their possession.

The Lebanese Army raided a house in Majdal Anjar and discovered a number of hidden explosives. They arrested the two house residents and confiscated the found weapons.

“The army received information about possible suspects inside the house before raiding it,” a security source said, confirming the incident was not linked to the killing of two army members earlier this month.

Two Lebanese Army personnel were killed in the town on October 22 during a raid to arrest an army deserter. The victims were identified as 41-year-old Major Abdo Jasser and 32-year-old First Sergeant Ziad Shuman al-Mais, and the two were shot and killed by a group of people protecting the army deserter they were pursuing.

The Lebanese Army immediately cordoned off the town and raided several houses to arrest possible suspects. It succeeded in stopping a number of suspects and army patrols are still pursuing the investigations in the double murder case.
Nonetheless, Thursday’s raid was not linked to last week’s incident and the weapons found inside it did not match those used to kill Jasser and Mais.

According to an army statement, the two arrested men were in possession of ammunition, military equipment and explosives in their residence.

The explosives included Grad rockets, bombs, grenades, explosive sticks, small-caliber explosives, ammunition and tasers. The army also found four transmission devices.

A military expert was called to the site to inspect the found explosives, and the two suspects were handed to concerned authorities for investigations. The uncovered weapons were confiscated and also transferred to concerned authorities.

Earlier in September, the Lebanese Army raided several arm depots in the Bekaa Valley towns of Hawr Taala and Brital and arrested 20 people. –The Daily Star