Syria thwarts weapons smuggling attempt to Lebanon, state media says

Damascus thwarted today an attempt to smuggle weapons into Lebanon, state media reports, days after Israel struck several border crossings between the two countries, saying they were used by Hezbollah.

The official SANA news agency says security forces intercepted the shipment in a car in the Bureij area, near the border with Lebanon.

Quoting a security source, SANA says authorities seized “nine anti-tank guided missiles, 68 RPG rounds, two 107mm rockets, and five boxes of ammunition” before raiding the smugglers’ hideout in the nearby Nabek district.

Lebanon and Syria share a porous, 330-kilometre (205-mile) border that is notorious for smuggling.

Under deposed president Bashar al-Assad, Syria was a key node of Iran’s so-called “axis of resistance” against Israel and enabled the transfer of weapons and money from Iran to Hezbollah.

The terror group played a crucial role during Syria’s civil war, fighting alongside Assad’s forces and helping to keep him in power as he cracked down on a popular revolt.

The new government in Damascus, dominated by the Islamists who toppled Assad, has rejected Iranian influence and attempted to cut off the supply of weapons to Hezbollah.

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