Dog Thwarts Apparent Attack on UNIFIL
Italian peacekeepers have arrested two Lebanese suspects on charges of smuggling plastic explosives into their headquarters in the southern town of Tibnin.
The Italian battalion serving with the U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) said in a statement Sunday the two suspects were turned over to the Lebanese Army along with the "small quantity of plastic material that could be explosive."
News updates on Monday said as the suspects, identified only by their initials as A.H. and A.Z., drove their mini truck into the Italian battalion headquarters in Tibnin to collect garbage, a drug sniffing dog attacked the vehicle.
After a thorough search of the truck, Italian troops found six small pieces of high-explosive material not connected and not set to detonate.
The UNIFIL statement, distributed by the state-run National News Agency, said the suspicious plastics were found in a garbage truck "during routine search early in the day." It did not disclose further details.
However, sources told Naharnet the two suspects are cleaning workers who have been employed by UNIFIL”s Italian battalion to work at its Tibnin headquarters for more than two years.