Syria foils smuggling attempt in Damascus countryside, near border with Lebanon

LONDON: The Syrian Arab Republic said on Wednesday it had foiled a smuggling attempt along the Lebanese border in the Damascus countryside, seizing two vehicles and their cargo after an exchange of gunfire. The smugglers opened fire on a patrol in the Jurd Al-Maarra area of Yabroud, prompting Syria’s border guards to return fire, the Defense Ministry’s media and communications department told the