Syria: Second attempt to smuggle weapons to Lebanon thwarted within a week

The Syrian General Authority for Borders and Customs announced the thwarting of an attempt to smuggle a shipment of ammunition into Lebanese territory, comprising 226 bombs, for the second time in approximately two weeks. In a statement, the Authority said that the Yabous border customs office, which shares a border with Lebanon, “seized 226 RGC-type bombs, which had been tightly concealed in secret compartments inside one of the vehicles heading to Lebanese territory.”

The Tuesday operation came about two weeks after the seizure of a large shipment of weapons, missiles, and drones, following suspicions regarding “one of the Iraqi oil tanker trucks that was crossing the Tanf border crossing with Iraq.”

On July 15, the Syrian Interior Ministry announced the thwarting of an attempt to smuggle a shipment of specialized weapons across the Syrian-Iraqi border, noting that it was en route to the “terrorist Hezbollah militia” in Lebanon. Iraq subsequently announced the formation of an investigative committee and summoned several officials to ascertain the details of the operation.

The Syrian Interior Ministry stated that the weapons shipment included long-range missiles, anti-tank missiles, and drones, and that preliminary investigations “confirmed, based on evidence and clues gathered during the operation, that the shipment was prepared to cross Syrian territory en route to Lebanon for the benefit of the terrorist Hezbollah militia.”