The pagers, deemed by Hezbollah to be safer than cellphones, were probably rigged with explosives before they were delivered to Lebanon, experts said.

Taiwan's Gold Apollo said on Wednesday the pagers used in the detonations in Lebanon had not been made by it but by a company called BAC which has a licence to use its brand. At least nine people were killed and nearly 3,

The company, Gold Apollo, said it had not manufactured the devices, pointing to another company that it said was licensed to use its brand.

Two people from Taiwanese companies were questioned multiple times as part of a probe into pagers that exploded while being used by Hezbollah operatives in Lebanon, Taipei investigators said Friday. Questions and speculation have swirled over where the devices came from and how they were supplied to Hezbollah,

"The components for Hezbollah's pagers were not produced by us," Taiwan's economy minister Kuo Jyh-huei told reporters on Friday. He added that a judicial investigation is already under way. "I want to unearth the truth, because Taiwan has never exported this particular pager model," Taiwan foreign minister, Lin Chia-lung said.

BUDAPEST (AFP) — Taiwan and Hungary on Wednesday denied making pagers that exploded while being used by Hezbollah members in Lebanon, killing 12 people. Further deaths happened Wednesday, apparently caused by exploding walkie-talkies.

The president and founder of a Taiwanese pager company linked to the detonation of thousands of pagers targeting Hezbollah in Lebanon was questioned by prosecutors late into the night on Thursday, then released.

By Ben Blanchard and Faith Hung TAIPEI (Reuters) -Components used in thousands of pagers that detonated on Tuesday in Lebanon in a deadly blow to Hezbollah were not made in Taiwan, Taiwan's economy minister said on Friday.

Taiwan’s economy minister confirmed on Friday that components used in the thousands of pagers that exploded in Lebanon on Tuesday, killing 37 people and wounding about 3,000, were not manufactured in Taiwan.