Syrian security forces foil attempt to smuggle weapons to Lebanon PHOTO

The Syrian General Security Directorate revealed that it had foiled an attempt to smuggle a shipment of weapons that was heading to Lebanon, through illegal crossings from the Tartus governorate.

The directorate said that, in coordination with the intelligence service in the governorate, the shipment was confiscated before it entered Lebanese territory, Caliber.Az reports citing Syrian media.

Photos published by the official SANA news agency showed missiles and light and medium machine guns, without the Syrian authorities announcing who was responsible for the shipment. The Syrian Observatory announced that Hezbollah was trying to withdraw the weapons stored in Syria to Lebanon, specifically from the Qusayr area that the party had controlled since 2013.

Israel has been concerned that weapons from the former Assad regime in Syria could be sent to the Hezbollah terror group in Lebanon. The IDF has also struck several border crossings between Syria and Lebanon to prevent arms from reaching the Lebanese terror group.

The Lebanese-Syrian border witnessed clashes in the past weeks after the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime, as a result of the conflicts of smuggling gangs on both sides of the border. The issue of border control between the two countries was the subject of discussion in the first official meeting that brought together the leader of the new Syrian administration, Ahmed al-Sharaa, and the head of the Lebanese caretaker government, Najib Mikati, last week.

By Vafa Guliyeva