Lebanese Interior Minister Nihad al-Mashnouq said the security forces had foiled terrorist operations that would have targeted places of worship and military forces in what is known as the "lethal cheese" operation at a press conference held Monday at the internal security headquarters in Beirut.
He said in a televised news conference that the attacks were planned from the Syrian province of Idlib, which is controlled by opposition fighters, and was set to coincide with the Lebanese general elections held in May.
He pointed out that the Lebanese internal security forces monitored and foiled the plan, and that the country is still safe for citizens and visitors.
He added that the security operation lasted ten months under the supervision of the Lebanese security services, and that the security forces recruited Syria resident in Lebanon to contact the "terrorist" operations center in Idlib.
He pointed out that the security operation was called "the deadly cheese", and was an attempt to smuggle explosives to the country, after the recruitment of young Syrian.
He pointed out that the smuggling attempts came in two forms. The first time was the transfer of cheese to the country and the explosives under it. The second time was transporting Shankalish (a kind of abandoned milk) to the country and the explosives under it, which were to be installed in Lebanon to explode.
Al-Mahnouq explained that these operations were to be carried out during the election period (May) to disrupt them, and were aimed at places of worship, Christian gatherings and military forces.
He pointed out that it was found after the arrests and investigations that the cargo carriers (not mentioned their number and nationality) were not aware of the subject, and he continued to declare the nature of the process first because it stopped, and (II) to ensure that security is settled.
On January 19, al-Mahnouq revealed that his country's security had been thwarted by a major terrorist operation months ago, without giving further details.