Police defused a small bomb at the American University of Beirut on Thursday, security officials said. An explosives expert defused a bomb of 200 grams of TNT that was found in a bag near an elevator in the Issam Fares Hall, a building off the main campus, said the official, according to the AP.
The bomb was wired to a detonator and ready to explode, the official added. It was taken to a police barracks for investigation.
Police are also looking into how the bomb got into the university, whose entrances are guarded by police officers and the university's own security guards.
A statement issued by AUB acting President Maroun Kisirwani said a university janitor found the bag at 9:30 a.m. that was left in the courtyard in front of Issam Fares Hall. "Police and campus security were immediately called to the scene and the bomb was dismantled by the Internal Security Forces," Kisirwani added.
Last month, bombs on two buses on a mountain road outside Beirut killed three passengers.
