Lebanon arrests five accused of Syria coast attack plot

Lebanese authorities arrested five people accused of planning attacks against the forces of Syria's new government on the Syrian coast, a Lebanese judicial official said Wednesday.

The official, speaking to AFP on condition of anonymity, said those detained were two Lebanese citizens and three Syrians, including a former colonel in the Syrian intelligence services. The official said authorities seized automatic weapons, hand grenades, sniper rifles and explosives.

The official said the alleged leader of the network is a former Syrian army major general close to Bashar al-Assad and, like the ousted longtime Syrian ruler, now based in Moscow. Initial investigations indicate the accused were planning operations against government forces on the Syrian coast, the official said.

The official also said the network's members received military training from Hezbollah fighters in eastern Lebanon. Hezbollah denied any direct or indirect connection to a cell or group seeking to destabilise security in Lebanon and Syria, and called the allegation baseless.

Hezbollah was allied with Assad and fought alongside his government's forces during Syria's civil war before Syria's new authorities ousted him in December 2024. The Syrian coast, the heartland of the Alawite minority to which the Assad family belongs, saw sectarian bloodshed in March 2025.

Syria and Lebanon have been trying to improve relations since Assad's ouster and the weakening of Hezbollah. Lebanese authorities last month extradited to Syria a former Assad-era general accused of crimes including murder and torture.