This photo shows a general view of the offices of Japanese walkie-talkie maker Icom in the city of Osaka on September 19, 2024 (Atish PATEL / AFP)
Japanese firm Icom says that it had stopped producing the model of radios reportedly used in recent blasts in Lebanon around 10 years ago.
“The IC-V82 is a handheld radio that was produced and exported, including to the Middle East, from 2004 to October 2014. It was discontinued about 10 years ago, and since then, it has not been shipped from our company,” Icom says in a statement.
Icom also notes that the devices in question appeared not to have an anti-counterfeit hologram sticker, which all authentic Icom products should be carrying.
Company executive Yoshiki Enomoto tells Japanese television NTV he was “surprised” by the news. He says the company could not confirm if the unit in question was Icom-made.
“This specific device had a lot of fake copies out in the market,” he says, adding that company officials could only determine its authenticity if they see its circuits.
A fresh wave of explosions ripped across Lebanon yesterday afternoon, appearing to mainly target hand-held radios used by Hezbollah members, a day after thousands were wounded when their pagers spontaneously exploded in a coordinated attack widely blamed on Israel after months of cross-border fire.
This video grab, shows a walkie-talkie that was detonated inside a house in an attack on Hezbollah members widely blamed on Israel, in Baalbek, east Lebanon, Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo)
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