Army Defuses 100-Kg Car Bomb in Arsal's Ain al-Shaab

The army on Thursday dismantled a booby-trapped car containing 100 kilograms of explosives in the Arsal area of Ain al-Shaab.

"Around 11:30 am, army forces discovered a suspicious Kia car with a Syrian plate that was parked on the side of the road in the Arsal area of Ain al-Shaab," the Army Command said in a statement.

"An army unit cordoned off the site and inspected the aforementioned car, which turned out to contain 100 kilograms of explosives planted inside metallic boxes and connected to wires and electric fuses," the army added, noting that the bomb was active.

“A military expert arrived on the scene and defused it as a probe was launched into the case,” the army said.

Media reports had earlier said the car was found in the the Wadi Hmeid area in Arsal's outskirts.

Its discovery came after the Lebanese army targeted overnight the positions of jihadists in Arsal's outskirts, reports said.

Battles also raged between the Syrian army and gunmen on the other side of the border, they added.

Militants from the Islamic State group and al-Qaida-linked al-Nusra Front overran Arsal last month and engaged in heavy battles with the Lebanese army.

The fighters withdrew to Syria but took with them hostages from the military and the Internal security Forces. They have beheaded two of them.

Lebanon has seen a string of deadly car bomb attacks linked to Syria's war, claimed by extremists.

G.K./Y.R.

H.K.