A security source said Lebanese forces are pursuing several suspected Sunni terrorists, and that Syrian airstrikes targeted Al Nusrah Front members yesterday in the Bekaa valley. Residents of the border town of Arsal braced for a flood of refugees from Yabroud as a regime offensive there intensified. Special forces arrested Syrian national Jamil Aziz al-Hasan […]
Authorities dismissed reports that Hezbollah dismantled an alleged Saudi-backed Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham terrorist cell in southern Beirut. Radwan Ayyoush, a defected Syrian army officer who now leads the Free Syrian Army’s Al-Assi Brigades, was arrested over the weekend with another Syrian after entering Lebanon illegally from Syria near Arsal.
Hezbollah’s second in command said the group intends to keep fighting in Syria. He said suicide bombers are targeting both Hezbollah and the Lebanese Army, and that jihadists have been present in Lebanon since before Hezbollah entered the conflict. A Lebanese businessman was released by his captors, who had demanded a $3 million ransom.
Extremists, including Chechens, Egyptians, Tunisians, and Syrians, are reportedly flocking to the large Ain al-Hilweh refugee camp near Sidon from Syria and joining the Abdallah Azzam Brigades’ Ziad Jarrah Brigades, and the Jund al-Sham. Their entry at Arsal is said to have been facilitated by a Palestinian, Mahmoud Mohammad S. His associates are thought to […]
Syria conflict spurs growing jihadist threat in Lebanon
Two suspects in the Feb. 3 suicide bombing of a passenger van were released due to lack of evidence, but a taxi driver who gave the bomber a ride remains in detention. A fourth victim of the Feb. 1 suicide bombing in Hermel died from his injuries.
Lebanon – Tripoli residents leave as security crumbles
Caretaker Interior Minister Charbel said the army cannot monitor the movements of a drone seen hovering over the Maarab residence of Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea, because of a lack of radars. Six men, including Sunni cleric Omar Atrash, have been accused of involvement in the Jan. 2 and Jan. 21 suicide bombings in southern […]
A judge issued an arrest warrant for Sunni preacher Omar Atrash, suspected of links to al Qaeda car bombings and attacks on Lebanese forces. The army is considering using antiaircraft weapons to shoot down a drone that has been hovering over the residence of Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea in Maarab. Geagea escaped an assassination […]
Attacks drive demand for ‘terrorism’ insurance in Lebanon
The group announced the joint operation the same day that al Qaeda denounced the Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham.
A suicide bomber detonated on a passenger van, killing himself and wounding the driver and a passenger in an area near Hebollah strongholds in southern Beirut. Security forces said the van was not the intended target, as the bomber had first tried to board a taxi but was refused. A north Lebanon mukhtar denied that […]
Caretaker Prime Minister Mikati has reportedly been targeted for assassination by a suicide bomber from the Khaled bin al-Walid Brigades of the Islamic Front; some security officials dismissed the report, but security for Mikati was stepped up in Beirut and Tripoli. Hezbollah MP Ali Fayyad said the government must confront takfiri groups that conduct terrorist […]
The Al Nusrah Front, the Abdullah Azzam Brigades, and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham continue to target Hezbollah in Lebanon.
A suicide car bomber detonated at a gas station in Hermel, killing at least four people and injuring 21 more. The Al Nusrah Front in Lebanon claimed the bombing, its second in the largely Shiite, Hezbollah-dominated area in the past two weeks. The US Embassy renewed a travel warning for Lebanon due to the series […]
Al-Qaeda now frontline threat to Israel
Syrian rocket and artillery fire hit in the Akkar villages, killing a Syrian refugee and injuring four other people, including a Lebanese soldier. Lebanese forces targeted gunmen in the border area. Seeking to deflect criticism for the shelling, Syria’s ambassador to Lebanon said terrorist groups are moving into Lebanese areas, including Sidon, Beirut, Tripoli, and […]
Hezbollah expanding drone use to Syria and Lebanon
The military prosecutor charged 13 al Qaeda-linked suspects with planning terror attacks in Lebanon; among those charged is Jamal Daftardar, a.k.a. Mohammad Ahmad al-Masri, a top Abdullah Azzam Brigades leader accused of recruiting, training, and facilitating the transfer of dozens of jihadists to Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, and Yemen. The son of a former Lebanese Forces […]
Sheikh Omar Atrash, a Sunni preacher who was arrested last week on suspicion of facilitating the movement of bombers and rigged cars into Lebanon for use in targeting Hezbollah, has reportedly confessed to the charges, including involvement in a double suicide bombing at a Sidon checkpoint. The Muslim Scholars Committee said the confession was likely […]
In Tripoli, new fighting groups have emerged, including the Bilal Ben Rabah Brigades, the Oussoud al-Shaarani Brigades, Jalal Dandashi Brigades, and a Salafist group led by Hussam al-Sabbagh a.k.a. Abu al-Hasan, giving rise to speculation that a crackdown on Islamist groups may be imminent. The Abdullah Azzam Brigades released photos of its joint attack with […]
Israeli Soldiers Confront Hezbollah Terrorists in Lifelike Simulation
Abu Sayyaf al-Ansari, a Lebanon-based Sunni militant, has reportedly pledged allegiance to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham. Security measures are being enhanced due to recent threats by Islamist groups, including the Al Nusrah Front, that they will attack targets in Lebanon, particularly those linked to Hezbollah.
The Marwan Hadid Brigades, an affiliate of the Abdullah Azzam Brigades, and the Al Nusrah Front in Lebanon fired several rockets from Syria into Hermel. Al Nusrah and the Abdullah Azzam Brigades issued a joint statement crediting the Marwan Hadid Brigades for the rocket attacks, and warned of further attacks in both Syria and Lebanon […]
Regional wave of Sunni extremism reaches Lebanon
The Al Nusrah Front in Lebanon, which claimed a suicide bombing in Beirut on Jan. 21, warned Sunnis in Lebanon to avoid areas where Hezbollah operates as the group’s bases will be targeted for attacks. Both the Army and Hezbollah set up checkpoints in Beirut after rumors surfaced that two suicide bombers were planning attacks […]
Security forces killed Ibrahim Abdul-Moti Abu Muaileq, a Palestinian Abdullah Azzam Brigades operative known as Abu Jaafar, in a shootout after he tried to elude arrest at a checkpoint in the Bekaa valley. Muaileq was accused of coordinating with the emir of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham on the movement of suicide […]
Lebanon Special Tribunal defense to link Abu Adass to Al Qaeda
Security forces detained Hussein Sharafeddine, a rapper with a long beard, in the south Beirut neighborhood where a car bomb killed four people the day before. The Future party said security will not return to Lebanon unless Hezbollah withdraws from Syria. Eight soldiers were wounded in Tripoli during clashes between supporters and opponents of the […]
Former NATO commander warns of wider war in Middle East