SIDON, Lebanon, Feb. 6 (UPI) -- Security forces seized weapons from the house of a Sunni extremist cleric in south Lebanon suspected of involvement in attacks on army troops.
A security source said police broke into the house of Ahmed Ansari in the southern port city of Sidon Monday and confiscated explosives, guns, automatic rifles and fliers inciting Islamic extremism.
Ansari was arrested last week as part of investigation into dynamite attacks on army checkpoints outside the Palestinian refugee camp of Ein el-Hilweh, a haven for outlaws and Muslim extremists wanted by the Lebanese authorities.
The source, who spoke to United Press International on condition of anonymity, said Ansari maintains close relations with extremist Palestinian and Lebanese groups based in Ein el-Hilweh, which is outside the control of Lebanese authorities.
In another development, Muslim clerics and political groups in Sidon held a meeting during which they denounced the riots that swept a Christian neighborhood in Beirut during a demonstration to protest against slandering Prophet Mohammed in the Danish media.
The rioters who set ablaze the Danish consulate in Ashrafieh, smashed cars and shop windows and attacked a church, sparking nationwide condemnations by Christian and Muslim politicians.
Police arrested at least 200 of the rioters, who included a majority of Syrians and pro-Syrian Palestinians, prompting many Lebanese politicians to point an accusing finger at Syria.
Many of the arrested Palestinians have reportedly come from Ein el-Hilweh.
