The army did not name the two detainees or say when they were captured.

A statement released on Saturday by the army said: "The [Army] Directorate of Intelligence, after a series of investigations in the Bekaa region, detained two people belonging to a network of espionage and terrorism linked to the Israeli enemy.

"They admitted gathering information on political party offices and monitoring the movements of party figures for this enemy."

The arrests took place on Friday, according to the statement.

"Communications devices and sophisticated cameras" were found in the possession of the accused, the statement said.

An army official declined further comment because of the continuing investigation.

Shia stronghold
 
The Bekaa Valley in eastern Lebanon where the army investigation took place, is considered to be a stronghold of the Shia group Hezbollah.

Hezbollah and Israel fought a 34-day war in 2006 that left much of Lebanon's infrastructure destroyed and claimed the lives of more than 1,200 Lebanese, mainly civilians, and more  than 160 Israelis, mostly soldiers.

Israel, which also invaded Lebanon in 1982 and kept troops in a "security zone" in the south until May, 2000, has been previously linked by security sources to assassinations of public figures.

In June 2006, the Lebanese army uncovered what it said was an Israel-linked network it accused of being behind the killing the  previous month of Mahmoud Majzoub, a senior Islamic Jihad leader, and his brother Nidal in a car bombing in the southern port city of Sidon.

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