BEIRUT: Lebanon’s Cabinet asked the Higher Defense Council Wednesday to probe allegations that members of Al-Qaeda were present in parts of Lebanon, Information Minister Walid Daouk said.

“The Cabinet recommended that security forces and the army preserve the borders and called on the Higher Defense Council to convene, which might take place tomorrow [over the presence of Al-Qaeda],” Daouk briefed reporters after the Cabinet meeting at Baabda Palace.

Defense Minister Fayez Ghosn said last week members of Al-Qaeda were entering Lebanon under the guise that they were members of the Syrian opposition. The allegations sparked controversy in the country with some accusing Ghosn of adding further pressure on Syrian refugees in north Lebanon.

His comments came days before two bombings targeted security center in Damascus that killed over 40 people. In the near aftermath of the rare attacks, Syrian authorities blamed Al-Qaeda for the attacks.

Daouk said ministers, meeting for the last time this year, also discussed the subject of the east Lebanon town of Arsal, Bekaa. During the session Ghosn repeated that Al-Qaeda was operating in the village, using evidence to back his claims.

“The subject of Arsal was discussed and all issues have been cleared and Ghosn presented the information he had and it appeared that the dispute was political and Ghosn's information is from security sources,” he said.

In an apparent bid to contain the Al-Qaeda allegations, Prime Minister Najib Mikati said earlier Wednesday that there was no solid evidence to support Ghosn’s remarks.

“There is no solid evidence of the presence of Al-Qaeda in Lebanon,” Mikati told reporters based at the Grand Serail in Downtown Beirut.

Following the meeting with Cabinet, Daouk also said that Mikati was pleased to see the Arab initiative taking its course and he noted that Lebanon, which decided not to participate in the observer mission, reiterates its support for the mission and its success.

Last week, Damascus announced that it had signed up to an observer mission to monitor a deal to end unrest in the Arab country, now in its tenth month, as part of the initiative aimed at resolving the crisis.

Daouk also said that Mikati had praised Lebanon's neutral position on the crisis in Syria and described it as the most appropriate in the face of regional developments.

Meanwhile, President Michel Sleiman also asked authorities to investigate Monday morning's incident in Tyre that targeted a restaurant and the killing of three Lebanese at the Syria-Lebanon border in the north.

Ministers had debated 37 ordinary items during the session, the final one in 2011.

One subject not included on the agenda was the item of implementing an oil exploration law that Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri has insisted the Cabinet discuss before years’ end or else face a questioning session in Parliament.

Mikati, during a chat with journalists at the Grand Serail earlier Wednesday, denied any rift with Berri over the oil exploration law and said the issue would be discussed during a committee meeting he would chair later in the day.

Mikati had held private talks with Sleiman prior to the Cabinet session.

The two, according to Baabda Palace sources, had discussed the latest developments in Lebanon.

Another hot issue that was not brought up in session was the subject of the recent wage hike decision which awaits a Shura Council decision.

“Let’s wait for the Shura Council decision and then we will decide in light of what we see in the interest of Lebanon,” Mikati told reporters.