Lebanese Minister: 1/2 of al-Qaa Bombers Came from Syria

Local Editor

"Preliminary investigations suggest that four of the eight suicide bombers came from inside Syria and not from the surrounding refugee camps in al-Qaa," Machnouk told reporters during a visit to the northeastern Lebanese town.

"It is our humane duty to protect the Syrian refugees, however we will never allow them to harm the Lebanese people. The attacks that happened in al-Qaa were expected despite the security forces' achievements," he added.

Al-Qaa, situated only a few kilometers from the Syrian border, was rocked by eight suicide bombings Monday. The first four militants blew themselves up at dawn Monday, while another four hit the town some 18 hours later.

Five people were martyred and about 20 were wounded in the morning attack, while a dozen was wounded in the evening bombings.

Meanwhile, nobody has yet claimed responsibility for the attacks.

However, rumors surfaced after the attacks that the suicide bombers came from the camps hosting thousands of Syrian refugees. A curfew was issued by the Baalbek-Hermel governor on Monday against the refugees for 72 hours.

Al-Qaa was in a state of alert Tuesday as security and military agencies expanded search operations. The Lebanese Internal Security Forces began a comprehensive search of the entire border village, as the army's Airborne Regiment flew over the town's outskirts in search of suspects.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team