Residents of several border towns in Akkar on Friday heard the sound of a powerful explosion that came from across the frontier with Syria.

“The sound of the blast was very strong and plumes of smoke have engulfed the area in a horrific way,” Akkar residents told Naharnet.

A delegation from the March 14 coalition on Friday announced that the period after the assassination of former minister Mohammed Shatah will be nothing like the period that preceded the operation.

The announcement came after the delegation met with Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea at his headquarters in Maarab.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif' announced on Friday that Tehran will send a delegation to Lebanon to take part in the investigation with Majed al-Majed, the Saudi national suspected of being behind the bombings of Iran's embassy in Beirut.

"Iran decided to send a delegation to Beirut to participate in the investigation with al-Majed because he played a role in threatening stability and in killing two Iranian employees at the embassy and several Lebanese nationals,” Zarif explained.

Politically paralyzed by deep divisions exacerbated by the war in neighboring Syria, Lebanon is likely to see a continuing cycle of political violence, analysts say.

On Thursday, four people were killed and dozens others wounded in a bomb blast in the Beirut southern suburb of Haret Hreik, a stronghold of Hizbullah, less than a week after the assassination of former finance minister Mohammed Shatah, a member of the March 14 coalition.

European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton on Friday condemned the deadly “terrorist attack” that rocked the Beirut southern suburb of Haret Hreik, calling for a “determined political response.”

In a press release, Ashton extended her “sincere condolences to the families of the victims” and hoped for a “speedy recovery for those injured.”

The army arrested at dawn on Friday four Syrians for illegally entering Lebanon.

The Army Command said that the Syrians were arrested in the eastern Bekaa region of Arsal.

The United Arab Emirates on Friday reiterated its call on its citizens not to travel to Lebanon over the deteriorating security situation in the country.

A statement issued by the Foreign Ministry also asked UAE nationals currently in Lebanon to leave the country immediately and coordinate with the country's embassy to facilitate their travel.

Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Miqati rejected on Friday suggestions to convene cabinet to address pending issues, saying that such a proposal contradicts the Taef Accord.

He told the General Security magazine in an interview: “We cannot reactivate the role of the caretaker government for any reason.”

DNA testing confirmed on Friday that the man detained by army intelligence is Majed al-Majed, the “emir” of the Abdullah Azzam Brigades, the state-run National News Agency reported.

According to NNA, al-Majed's DNA was compared with those of his cousin, which confirmed his identity.

An al-Qaida-linked Saudi suspect detained in Lebanon is being held in a military hospital because "he is in poor health", a medical official told Agence France Presse Friday.

Another official familiar with the investigation said the interrogation of Majed al-Majed "has been delayed because he is in poor health," and that the suspect is being "heavily guarded" at the Baabda military hospital near Beirut.