Tag Archives: lebanon

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

The Al Nusrah Front and Hezbollah clashed for the past two days on the Lebanese border near Arsal, where some 4,000 Syrian rebel fighters are said to be holed up. The Army arrested a Syrian man in Brital and confiscated military equipment, ammunition, and six cars, two of which were stolen. The Free Sunnis of […]

A judge issued arrest warrants for three Palestinians suspected of membership in the Al Nusrah Front. Hezbollah chief Nasrallah said the group would provide “all means of support” to the Palestinian resistance. Clashes broke out at an Army checkpoint in Arsal, and a Syrian Air Force strike just inside the Lebanese border near Arsal killed […]

The Al Nusrah Front posted video of a Lebanese soldier who defected to join the terror group. A Palestinian who was kidnapped in Baalbek was released after a $100,000 ransom was paid. Four rockets launched from the Syrian border area landed in Bekaa Valley towns.

Al Monzer al Hassan, a terrorist facilitator with dual Swedish-Lebanese nationality who delivered explosives to two Saudi suicide bombers in Beirut last month, was shot dead during a raid in Tripoli as security forces were trying to arrest him; two accomplices were arrested. Security forces in Tripoli also arrested Hussam al Sabbagh, a wanted Lebanese-Australian […]

Lebanese troops deployed at 100 new points along the Syrian border in the northern Bekaa Valley, after reports that security forces had disrupted a major terrorist attack by about 2,000 Islamist fighters on Lebanese border villages. US officials reportedly tipped off Lebanese authorities about the planned militant operation, called “Laylat al-Qadr” (Night of Destiny), which […]