BEIRUT: Military Prosecutor Judge Saqr Saqr indicted 10 people Thursday of plotting to assassinate the head of a Hezbollah-linked group in the southern city of Sidon, including the man’s wife.

The accused, who have Lebanese and Palestinian nationalities, include seven who have already been arrested on suspicion of involvement in the plot, which had the potential to inflict dozens of causalities.

On Jan.4, the Lebanese Army thwarted the assassination attempt, against Sheikh Saheeb Habli, after a bomb was discovered at around 10 p.m. in the parking lot of the Hijazi complex in Sidon's Quds Square. The army dismantled the explosive.

A day after the incident, Internal Security Forces arrested two Palestinians about 200 meters away from the center, where Habli's office is located.

Preliminary investigations with one of the suspects indicated that the motive behind the incident was personal. The suspect once worked for Habli, who is the head of the Olfa Society, a group close to Hezbollah.

Saqr’s indictment is based on the Penal Code and the law governing terrorism, which means that if found guilty, the suspects could face the death penalty.

The suspects have been transferred to the office of the Military Preliminary Investigation Judge Riad Abou Gheed for questioning.