World News
Were Japanese company’s walkie-talkies used in Lebanon blasts? Company says…
A second wave of device explosions in Hezbollah strongholds in Lebanon on Wednesday killed 20 people and injured more than 450.
“The IC-V82 is a handheld radio that was produced and exported from 2004 to October 2014, including in the Middle East. It was discontinued about 10 years ago and has not been shipped from our company since then,” Icom said in a statement.
“The production of batteries needed to operate the main unit has also been discontinued, and hologram seals to identify counterfeit products were not applied, so it is not possible to confirm whether the product was shipped from our company,” it said.
It said products for foreign markets are sold exclusively through its authorized distributors, and its export program is based on Japanese safety trade control regulations.
“All of our radios are manufactured at our production subsidiary, Wakayama Icom Inc., in Wakayama Prefecture under a strict management system… so no parts other than those specified by our company are used in any product. In addition, all of our radios are manufactured at the same factory, and we do not make them overseas,” the statement said.
In the second wave of device explosions in the past few days, 20 people were killed and more than 450 injured in Hezbollah strongholds in Lebanon on Wednesday, officials said.
A source close to Hezbollah said walkie-talkies used by its members exploded in its Beirut stronghold, after state media reported similar blasts in south and east Lebanon.
The attacks came a day after the simultaneous explosion of hundreds of paging devices used by Hezbollah killed 12 people, including two children, and wounded more than 2,800 in Lebanon, an unprecedented attack blamed on Israel.
There was no comment from Israel. The White House warned all sides against “any escalation.”
