Japanese company probing into reports that its walkie-talkies exploded in Lebanon

The company said that it received information that walkie-talkies with its logo had exploded in Lebanon and promised to share the results of the probe

Japan’s ICOM corporation is checking reports that its two-way portable radios exploded in Lebanon after a presumed cyberattack.

The company said that it received information that walkie-talkies with its logo had exploded in Lebanon and promised to share the results of the probe.

On September 17, many pagers exploded almost simultaneously in different parts of Lebanon. According to the country’s Health Ministry, twelve people were killed, including two children, and 2,800 more were hospitalized. Another wave of explosions swept across Lebanon, when Icom IC-V82 walkie talkies, phones, fingerprint scanners, as well as devices operating on solar and lithium-ion batteries exploded. According to Reuters, these devices were bought by Hezbollah along with the pagers.

The Shiite movement Hezbollah blamed the explosions on Israel and promised a “fair retaliation.” According to one version, the incident was a result of a cyberattack. The devices were reportedly brought to Lebanon for Hezbollah members in the spring of this year with explosive devices already embedded in them.