BEIRUT: The five Syrian nationals arrested Friday in the southern town of Nabatieh had 450 grams of explosives and three fillings of a 160mm mortar with Hebrew on them, a statement from the Army said Saturday.
The suspects were identified as Khodr Mohammad al-Fanoush, Sheikh Mohammad Saleh al-Fattah, Ahmad Mohammad al-Fanoush, Hussein Farhan al-Fattah and Wael Hussein al-Hasan, the Army statement said.
Security sources told The Daily Star earlier that the suspects were preparing explosives to be used against mourners commemorating the occasion of Ashoura Sunday.
Lebanese Shiites commemorate the death of Imam Hussein, Prophet Mohammad’s grandson, by holding mass rallies in Beirut’s southern suburbs, the Bekaa, and several towns in the south. The town of Nabatieh usually hosts the biggest such rally in the southern part of the country.