No company involved in Lebanon pager explosions, claims Taiwan

• 'Following an investigation, it is found that the AR-924 pager was designed and produced by the Frontier Group Entity (FGE) abroad,' says Justice Ministry

ANKARA

Taiwan on Monday claimed that none of its companies were involved in a series of pager explosions in Lebanon in September, and announced the conclusion of a weeks-long investigations into the deadly incident, which Israel confessed just a day earlier.

The Justice Ministry said in a statement that no evidence points to the involvement of any Taiwanese manufacturers in the explosions that killed 26 people and injured over 3,200 others, including an Iranian ambassador.

The investigation bureau found that the pager model AR-924, which was reportedly used by Hezbollah members for communication when multiple devices were exploded across Lebanon, had not been produced by Taiwan-based company Gold Apollo in recent years.

“Following an investigation, it is found that the AR-924 pager was designed and produced by the Frontier Group Entity (FGE) abroad, which signed a memorandum of business cooperation with Gold Apollo and obtained its authorization to use the 'original equipment manufacturer' labels on such devices,” the statement said.

“Gold Apollo was only responsible for testing the samples of pager AR-924 which initially was not equipped with explosive capabilities, and the company did not provide any technical guidance, raw materials, components nor warranty support to the FGE,” it added.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday admitted responsibility for the first time for the mass pager explosions that rocked Lebanon nearly two months ago.

At least 26 people were killed and over 3,200 others injured when thousands of pager devices exploded in several areas across Lebanon on Sept. 17 and 18.

“There were senior officials in the defense establishment and the political echelon in charge of them who opposed the pager operation, as well as [Hezbollah leader Hassan] Nasrallah’s elimination,” Netanyahu said during a Cabinet meeting on Sunday as cited by Israeli Channel 12.

"Before the pager operation, they told me that the US would oppose it, but I did not listen to them,” he added.