Lebanon's army said it seized explosives on Monday, after Prime Minister Nawaf Salam vowed to deal firmly with illegal weapons, days after security forces seized a truck carrying materiel suspected of belonging to Hezbollah. The army said soldiers in the northeastern Hermel region "seized around 200 kilograms (around 440 pounds) of explosive material packed in bags and ready for smuggling from Syrian territory" into Lebanon, adding that the smugglers fled back into Syria. A judicial official told AFP that the C4 explosives were being smuggled "on a mule through an illegal crossing in the town of Qasr". The announcement was the third of its kind this month, and came days after a judicial official told AFP that authorities detained two suspected members of Iran-backed Hezbollah at a security checkpoint in Dahr al-Baidar as they headed to Beirut. The official said they were transporting half a ton of explosives -- 250 kilograms of TNT and 250 kilograms of C4 -- when they were stopped near a road linking Syria to the Lebanese capital. Salam on X confirmed that "it has become known that a few days ago a truck was stopped" in Dahr al-Baidar "carrying hundreds of kilograms of explosive materials" including C4. "We will not be lenient in following up and expanding the investigation in order to identify all those involved in this criminal operation, and those behind them," he said. "We will deal with weapons outside the legal framework will the required firmness," he added, whether regarding their possession, transportation or use. Salam also said that he understood "Lebanese worries" over the C4, particularly as it "has been used in a number of political assassinations" in Lebanon's history. - Detonators - Earlier this month, Lebanon's army said it had seized "approximately 245 kg of TNT, four explosive devices, eight detonators and electrical wiring for the detonators", which were being "smuggled from Syrian territory into Lebanese territory", adding that the smugglers fled towards Syria. Lebanon and Syria share a 330-kilometer (205-mile) border known for being porous. Hezbollah until recently was the most influential political and military force in Lebanon, enjoying key support from Iran and longtime Syrian ruler Bashar al-Assad. The group has been accused of carrying out assassinations of political figures who opposed Damascus, particularly between 2005 and 2008. A UN-backed court in 2020 sentenced a fugitive Hezbollah member for the 2005 assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri, with the court subsequently sentencing two more Hezbollah members in absentia. Lebanese authorities last year committed to disarming Hezbollah, after hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah erupted in 2023 and culminated in all-out war the following year, decimating the group's leadership. The 2024 toppling of Assad also severed the group's key weapons supply line from Iran, and Syria's new authorities regularly say they have seized weapons headed for Lebanon. However, Hezbollah this year drew Lebanon into the Middle East war with rocket fire at Israel, which responded with airstrikes and a ground invasion. The cash-strapped Lebanese army faces enormous challenges in carrying out its mission of disarming Hezbollah and deploying in south Lebanon, including under an Israel-Lebanon framework reached in June this year.
