Lebanon detains 103 Syrians in wake of suicide attacks

Lebanese troops detained 103 Syrians for illegal entry into the country in a security sweep Tuesday, a day after a series of deadly bombings struck a village near the Syrian border, the military said.

The government warned of a mounting challenge in tiny Lebanon, which abuts the war-torn Syria, underlining the magnitude of Monday’s attack that saw nine bombings, eight of them from suicide attackers, strike in the small Christian village of Qaa, killing five people.
“The attack on the Lebanese national security and the unfamiliar manner in which it was executed usher in a new kind of phase in the state’s confrontation with the dark forces of terrorism,” a Cabinet statement said.
The bombings triggered fear and panic among Qaa’s residents and a deepening sense of foreboding in Lebanon, which has grappled for over five years with spillover from Syria’s civil war.
Tuesday was declared a national day of mourning and authorities postponed funerals for the five killed in Monday’s bombings, citing security reasons. A major religious event scheduled in the capital, Beirut, by the militant Hezbollah group was also postponed.
Also citing security concerns, the ministry of culture postponed the opening of the Bacchus Temple, part of the famed ruins of Baalbek. A troupe of Syrian actors roaming the Bekaa Valley with a performance about refugee woes postponed its tour. A limited curfew was imposed in Qaa and the surrounding area.
The army said it carried out security raids in six areas in the Baalbek region, which has many informal Syrian refugee settlements. It said nine motorcycles and two vehicles were confiscated and two Lebanese were arrested with illegal weapons.

Source: Arab News