Three locally manufactured bombs found at the house of a former commando soldier, located at Matale Junction in Anuradhapura, have been taken into custody by the Anuradhapura Crime Investigation Division.

The Police stated that the raid was carried out based on received information, during which the former commando soldier concerned was also arrested.

However, the Anuradhapura Crime Investigation Division has handed over the bombs to the Police Special Task Force officers for defusing. (Newswire)

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Israeli air raids on southern Lebanon have killed at least 100 people and wounded more than 400, according to Lebanese health officials.

The Israeli army said on Monday that it had launched more than 300 air raids at sites used by the Iran-backed armed group Hezbollah. The increased hostilities raise further fears of an all-out war between Israel and Hezbollah or even a wider regional conflagration.

Lebanon’s Ministry of Public Health said in a statement cited by state media that children, women and medics were among the victims of the air attacks.

The announcement came hours after Israel’s military had warned civilians to move away from places it claimed were being used by Hezbollah, which launched a barrage of rockets into northern Israel the previous day.

The intensification of the fighting across the shared border, which has seen low-level skirmishes since Israel launched its war on Gaza in October, follows last week’s explosions of pagers and walkie-talkies which killed dozens in Lebanon.

In the early hours of Monday, Israeli army spokesperson Daniel Hagari said its forces conducted “extensive strikes” against Hezbollah posts after identifying attempts to fire rockets. Israel’s government recently declared that it was shifting more focus to the fighting with Hezbollah in a bid to allow the 60,000 or so Israelis evacuated from the border areas to return.

Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant called on the public to remain calm as the military broadened its assault.

“We are deepening our attacks in Lebanon, the actions will continue until we achieve our goal to return the northern residents safely to their homes,” Gallant said in a video published by his office on Monday. “These are days in which the Israeli public will have to show composure.” (Al Jazeera)

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