Lebanon foils 3 suicide attacks planned by IS militants: Minister

Beirut: Lebanese security forces foiled three suicide attacks planned by militants linked to the Islamic State (IS) group in Beirut’s southern suburbs, Interior Minister Bassam Mawlawi has said.

Mawlawi on Wednesday said at a press conference that militants had planned to carry out attacks in late February by using rocket-propelled grenades, gunfire, as well as suicide vests rigged with explosives that could have killed many people, Xinhua news agency reported.

Two suspects were arrested on Wednesday and are being held in custody, with explosives, weapons and munitions seized, he added.

The IS controlled areas in northeastern Lebanon from 2014 to 2017, and claimed two suicide bombings in Beirut’s southern suburbs in 2015 that killed more than 40 people.