CHTOURA, Lebanon, (Reuters) – Lebanese security forces found a car bomb in eastern Lebanon on Thursday and two other vehicles containing weapons and explosives, including four Katyusha rockets, security sources said on Thursday.
The sources had earlier said three car bombs were found in the Bar Elias village just west of the border with Syria in the Bekaa valley.
On Wednesday three suspected al Qaeda members in possession of weapons and explosives were arrested in the village.
Security forces conducted raids after the men gave details of the cars.
The three men were found to be in possession of forged travel and identity documents, computers, maps of Lebanese cities and night vision equipment. Security forces also found explosives in suitcases and guns, the sources said.
The nationalities of the three were not immediately available.
The potential for Sunni Muslim militancy is on the rise in Lebanon as an al Qaeda-inspired militant group, Fatah al-Islam, battles the Lebanese army at a Palestinian refugee camp in northern Lebanon.
The group has threatened to expand its fight to other areas of Lebanon and beyond if the army does not halt a 19-day-old attack. At least 115 people have been killed in the fighting.
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