Hezbollah attackers subject of arrest warrant

BEIRUT, Lebanon, Aug. 12 (UPI) -- Six arrest warrants were issued in Lebanon for national and Syrian suspects tied to the July ambush of members of Hezbollah, a judicial official said.

A convoy carrying members of Hezbollah was struck by a roadside bomb, leaving an official with the Shiite movement dead last month. The vehicles were strafed with bullets following the explosion near the Syrian border.

More than 50 people were injured in Beirut when a pro-Hezbollah suburb was bombed in July.

A judicial official told The Daily Star newspaper in Lebanon authorities issued arrest warrants for members of a "terrorist cell" tied to the attacks on Hezbollah. The newspaper said the warrants were for one Syrian man and five Lebanese.

The newspaper said all six are charged with being members of an armed organization planning acts of terrorism inside Lebanon.

The European Union last month designated the military wing of Hezbollah as a terrorist organization. Its political arm is highly influential in Lebanon's government, which is divided between pro- and anti-Western camps.

Lawmakers in Lebanon said the Hezbollah designation makes it difficult to repair a government upended by the March resignation of Prime Minister Najib Mikati, a Hezbollah ally.

The Lebanese newspaper reports Hezbollah has been targeted at home for its role in the Syrian civil war.