BEIRUT (AP) – Lebanese troops detained 103 Syrians for illegal entry into the country, in a security sweep on Tuesday, a day after a series of deadly bombings struck a village near the border with Syria, the military said.
The unprecedented attacks – nine explosions in all, eight of them suicide bombings – triggered fear and panic among residents of Qaa village and a deepening sense of foreboding in Lebanon, which has grappled for over five years with spillovers from neighboring Syria’s civil war.
Tuesday was declared a national day of mourning and authorities postponed funerals for the five people killed in Monday’s bombings, citing security reasons. A major religious event scheduled in the capital, Beirut, by the militant Hezbollah group was also postponed.
Also citing security concerns, the ministry of culture said it will postpone the opening of Bacchus Temple, part of the famed ruins of Baalbek.
The army said it carried out security raids in six areas in the Baalbek region, which has many informal settlements of Syrian refugees. It said nine motorcycles and two vehicles were confiscated and two Lebanese were arrested with illegal weapons.