The interrogation of Islamist commander Imad Jomaa was postponed after his lawyer submitted documents alleging that his confession and those of 42 other suspects arrested during recent clashes in Arsal were coerced. Sheikh Amama of the Muslim Scholars Committee said he decided to collaborate with Sister Agnes-Mariam of the Cross after she arranged the repatriation […]
Mother Agnes: The efficient mediator who draws controversy
Sheikh Adnan Amama of the Muslim Scholars Committee said the Islamist militants still holding Lebanese security forces captive have issued a list of their demands; he said the government has asked that the details of the demands be kept from the media. Amama said the Islamic State holds 11 soldiers and a corpse, and the […]
Two Lebanese security forces were released by their Al Nusrah Front captors after negotiations by the Muslim Scholars Committee. In return, the militants reportedly were assured that the “security grip on Arsal Syrian refugee camps will be eased.” A negotiator, Sheikh Mustafa al-Hujeiri a.k.a. Abu Taqiyeh, said there may be more kidnapped security personnel as […]
Living in Australia, longing for jihad
The US issued a travel warning for Lebanon noting that the Islamic State, the Al Nusrah Front, the Abdullah Azzam Brigades, and Hezbollah all operate there, and stressed the increasing frequency of suicide bombings. A Free Syrian Army fighter was arrested in Sidon. Assad regime forces warned residents of the border town of Tfail to […]
Security forces arrested a 19-year-old Lebanese man in Baalbek suspected of operating the Twitter account of the so-called “Free Sunnis of Baalbek Brigade.” Sheikh Adnana Amama, of the Muslim Scholars Committee delegation negotiating with the Islamists who kidnapped Lebanese security forces in Arsal, said the committee may withdraw from its mission given Lebanon’s lack of […]
Lebanon – Three hotspots could erupt into violence
Lebanese Army chief Gen. Kahwagi said as many as 20 of the soldiers kidnapped by Islamists in Arsal are missing and possibly dead; 17 other security personnel were also taken captive. Former Free Syrian Army spokesman Ahmad al Qusair, the go-between in contacts of the Muslim Scholars Committee and the militants, said negotiations for the […]
A group of Lebanese clerics with links to Islamist groups mediated a ceasefire between the Lebanese military and fighters from the Islamic Front and the Al Nusrah Front in Arsal, which let as many as 2,000 Islamist fighters escape with over captive 35 Lebanese security forces.
Lebanon – Arsali and refugee relations tense
The Islamic State released a video of seven captured Lebanese soldiers; negotiations for the release of some 35 kidnapped security forces are said to be ongoing. The military court has received the cases of captured Islamist commander Imad Jomaa and nine other militants arrested during recent clashes in Arsal.
The head of Lebanese armed forces said the Islamic State had tried to set up a bridgehead in Arsal from which to attack Shiite areas and engulf the country in sectarian strife. French sources said that Saudi Arabian red tape has delayed the shipment of arms from France to Lebanon. The British ambassador conveyed the […]
Army Commander General Jean Qahwaji said the military’s recent intervention in Arsal “saved Lebanon from a deadly sectarian rift,” and said his priority now was ensuring the return of some 35 security forces abducted by Islamist militants. Palestinian ambassador Ashraf Dabbour claimed that Islamic State militants are not present in the Palestinian refugee camps in […]
Lebanese villagers near Kfar Qouq reportedly forced Islamist fighters back across the border into Syria after an armed clash with them. Gunmen ambushed Lebanese politician and Naharnet editor Naufal Daou in the Bekaa Valley town of al-Tibeh, opening fire on his car, but he managed to escape. Security forces arrested seven people from a Syrian […]
Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, ISIS and Hezbollah
Residents began returning to Arsal, and security was stepped up in the town, after Islamist militants withdrew following a ceasefire. Reports said that the Al Nusrah Front militants left town and the Islamic State militants crossed over into Syria. The militants are said to be holding at least 35 Lebanese security forces as hostages, divided […]
Lebanese Army in control after militants flee Arsal
Patriarchs decry Christian exodus, demand UN act
Al Nusrah Front and Islamic State militants began withdrawing from Arsal, after releasing six kidnapped Lebanese security forces; the militants still hold 17 ISF personnel and 10 soldiers, according to the Committee of Muslim Scholars, which mediated a ceasefire that started yesterday. Al Nusrah said the remaining kidnapped soldiers have a “special status.” Abou Talal, […]
A brief humanitarian truce in Arsal fell apart after Islamist militants resumed attacks on the Army. The militants, who include fighters from the Al Nusrah Front and from the Islamic State, released several kidnapped security forces but still hold dozens more. Hezbollah said its fighters have not participated in the clashes and that it has […]
Lebanese back Army, but fear for future
New Border Fighting Between ISIS and Lebanon’s Army
After three days of clashes with Islamist militants around Arsal, the army said 14 soldiers were killed, 86 wounded, and 22 are missing; at least 50 civilians and some 50 militants are also said to have been killed. The government vowed to protect Arsal, demanding the militants’ withdrawal and refusing to cut a deal. A […]
Lebanese Sunni clerics urge protests over bombardment of Arsal
Following two days of clashes in Arsal between the Al Nusrah Front and Lebanese forces, Army Chief Kawaghi said 10 soldiers had been killed, 25 wounded, and 13 more were missing. He also said the capture of Al Nusrah commander Imad Jomaa, who was detained while putting on the “final touches” for a long-planned attack […]
Tribesmen force Islamic State militants out of Syrian villages
In Tunnel War, Israeli Playbook Offers Few Ideas
Lebanon – Arsal officials demand a Tripoli-style security plan
The army detained seven or eight Syrians in Arsal suspected of membership in the Al Nusrah Front. Hezbollah and the Syrian regime are waging a war of attrition against jihadists from Al Nusrah and the Islamic State that are holed up in the mountainous border areas near Arsal and Qalamoun. A top Hezbollah official was […]