Last update - 00:00 06/06/2007
Lebanese officials: Soldiers seize Hezbollah weapons truck
By The Associated Press
Lebanese troops have seized a truckload of rockets and ammunition belonging to the Hezbollah guerrillas in eastern Lebanon, security officials said Wednesday.
The shipment of Grad rockets and ammunition for automatic rifles and machine guns was seized late Tuesday at a random army checkpoint near the town of Baalbek, a stronghold for the Shiite Muslim militant group.
Six Hezbollah members in the truck were let go but the confiscated weapons were taken to nearby army barracks. There was no immediate comment from Hezbollah on the weapons' seizure.
It was not clear whether the militants were transferring the weapons within the country or bringing the shipment in from neighboring Syria, as they have reportedly done in the past. Also, the shipment's destination was not known.
Under United Nations Security Council resolution 1701, which halted last summer's war between Israel and Hezbollah, any transfer of weapons to groups other than the Lebanese government is illegal.
But the guerrilla leaders have boasted that they have replenished their stocks of rockets after the fighting.
The head of the research division of Military Intelligence told Knesset members on Monday that Hezbollah is rebuilding its forces south of the Litani River in Lebanon, despite the presence of international peacekeepers in the area. (Click here for map)
Hezbollah has urged the government to abide by its own policy, proclaimed in 2005, to support the resistance in the south - which is Lebanese shorthand for the guerrilla group.
But the guerrillas has since November left the government along with its allies and joined the opposition seeking to topple U.S.-backed Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Siniora.
In February, authorities seized a truck bringing military supplies for Hezbollah in a Beirut suburb. The group acknowledged the shipment was theirs and demanded it be returned but the government refused.