Beirut: The Lebanese authorities have deported a French man who was planning to head to Syria to carry out a suicide bombing, the pro-Syrian As-Safir daily reported on Tuesday.

The man, who was not identified, was arrested at Beirut’s airport a few weeks ago after the authorities received a tip-off from a European intelligence agency, it said.

The newspaper added that the suspect was planning to carry out a suicide bombing in Syria under the orders of an Al Qaida-affiliated group.

Meanwhile, Lebanese authorities are questioning another French citizen, originally from the Comoros islands, who was arrested in Beirut’s Hamra district Friday during a raid on his hotel.

Local media said the man had been staying in a hotel waiting for instructions to carry out a suicide bombing in Lebanon.

A lot of foreign Muslim fighters linked with Al Qaida have been flocking to Syria since 2011 to fight alongside the Syrian opposition rebels to topple the regime of Syrian president Bashar Al Assad.

Late Monday, a blast rocked the southern part of the capital Beirut, killing at least one person and wounding 20 others, according to the Lebanese Red Cross.

Lebanon has seen several explosions since last year after the Shiite movement Hezbollah started fighting alongside Al Assad’s forces. Sunni militant groups have previously claimed responsibility for the attacks.

Syrian jets carried out several air strikes in the Lebanese-Syrian border region after they spotted movement by rebels in the northeastern part of Lebanon, Syrian activists said Tuesday.

No casualties were reported.

In a letter to the United Nations Security council, Damascus said an Israeli raid, which targeted Syrian posts in the Golan Heights later Sunday, killed four Syrians and wounded nine.

The opposition Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the raids had killed 10 soldiers.

“The new Israeli attack happened in full view of the Under-Secretary-General of the Department of Peacekeeping Operations, Herve Ladsous who is visiting Syria to inspect the status of the UN peace-keeping force in Syria,” said Damascus in the letter.