Lebanese court charges 13 over explosives linked to Hezbollah

A Lebanese military court charged 13 people over a truck carrying explosives that authorities seized earlier this month.

The truck was stopped at a checkpoint on the highway between Beirut and the Bekaa Valley, carrying 780 kilograms of explosives, including TNT and C-4.

Two defendants are in custody, while the others were charged in absentia.

Hezbollah acknowledged that the explosives belonged to it and said they were intended for use against Israeli forces in southern Lebanon.

The charges test Lebanon’s ban on Hezbollah’s military activities, which the government declared illegal in March after the group fired rockets at northern Israel.

Hezbollah has demanded the return of the explosives and the release of the detainees, but the government says it will continue the investigation.