Several Held over Ballouneh Rockets that were 'Bought from Burj al-Barajneh Camp'

The Army Intelligence is questioning several suspects, including Lebanese nationals, in connection with the rocket attack on the town of Yarze in June, media reports said Wednesday.

“The Lebanese army conducted raids in Kesrouan and arrested the Lebanese national Sh. Sh., who hails from the town of Mairouba, in addition to the Lebanese citizens A. M. and A. A., who hail from Kesrouan, and the Syrians M. A., H. K., A. D., M. K., A. D. and A. K.,” al-Jadeed television quoted a security source as saying.

According to the TV network, it has been confirmed that the rockets were bought from the Burj al-Barajneh Palestinian refugee camp, although the political party that sold them remains unknown.

“Interrogations are underway, especially with the detained Lebanese to determine whether or not they belong to one of the political parties that are active in the region,” the source added.

Meanwhile, LBCI television said “nine Syrian suspects have been arrested in connection with the case of the Ballouneh rockets and preliminary investigations revealed that two or three of them were aware that the operation will take place.”

Al-Manar television said the target of the rockets was the headquarters of the Defense Ministry in Yarze.

According to state-run National News Agency, Judge Saqr Saqr, the government's commissioner to the Military Court, is overseeing the investigations.

Earlier, al-Joumhouria daily said the members of the network, which had fired a rocket from Ballouneh in the early hours of Friday June 21, are Syrians.

But al-Akhbar newspaper reported that the network's members are Palestinian and Lebanese, saying they bought the rockets from the Burj al-Barajneh camp.

Reports had said that they intended to target the Defense Ministry in Yarze. But one rocket hit a high-voltage power line in a nearby town and a second rocket failed to launch.

The launchpads were found in Ballouneh.

On August 1, two rockets fired from an area near the town of Aramoun in Aley struck locations near the presidential palace in Baabda.

A rocket landed in the garden of the Freiha villa that is located near the Officers' Club in the Baabda area. While the second rocket landed near the Khashoqji castle in nearby Yarze.

It is still unclear if the Ballouneh cell was also involved in the Aug. 1 attack.