BEIRUT: Ten men arrested late last week for allegedly assaulting officers and seizing their weapons in Jbeil, north Lebanon, were released Saturday, security sources said.

The police officers, who were in a four-by-four vehicle, encountered a group of men illegally chopping wood in the Jbeil village of Elmat Thursday around midnight.

Police chief Brig. Joseph Doueihy said Friday that while trying to transport the wood to a charitable organization, as per regulations, the officers were shot at and robbed by a group of armed men.

Doueihy added that police were also hit during the assault.

The sources said Saturday that the 10 arrested men were arrested but cannot leave the country.

They added that police and the Lebanese Army were searching forests in the area for some 20 further men implicated in the incident.

Logging in forests is prohibited without a permit from the relevant municipality.