Explosion near Lebanese Army Post

Security forces arrested Thursday two people suspected of involvement in a roadside bomb that exploded near an Army Intelligence post in east Lebanon earlier in the day, in what a security source said was a warning over the military’s crackdown on pro-Syrian opposition smugglers.   

The bomb went off on the side of an inner road linking Jalala to Chtaura in the Western Bekaa Valley, the source said, adding the blast site was only 200 meters from offices belonging to Army Intelligence.

The Army had received information earlier in the day about a possible bomb in the area, prompting soldiers to cordon off the vicinity minutes before the explosion. 

There were no reports of casualties.  

The blast caused minor damage to the vehicle of a reporter who was in the area at the time.

The Lebanese Army confirmed the incident in a statement, saying the military expert examined the site of the explosion which was the result of a 300-gram explosive. 

It also said that the bomb was remotely detonated and that the military arrested two suspects shortly after the incident. 

An investigation is under way under the supervision of Lebanon’s judiciary.

The security source said the bomb described the incident as a message to the Army, particularly to the Chtaura intelligence unit which last week foiled an attempt to transport explosives inside Lebanon. 

On Oct. 24, an Army unit exchanged fire with four gunmen who were on board a vehicle packed with explosives in the east Lebanon village of Hosh al-Harimeh.