Lebanese intelligence has learned that three or four leaders among terrorist groups in the Ain al-Hilweh Palestinian refugee camp are preparing terror attacks against the Lebanese military in Sidon. An Israeli drone crashed on the Israeli side of the Mays al-Jabal border area. The families of three Wadi Khaled men charged with membership in the […]
A military judge ordered the arrest of four Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham militants for membership in the al Qaeda-linked group and planning attacks in Lebanon. Three of the men are in custody and the fourth, Omar al-Satem, an uncle of the suicide bomber who detonated in Beirut on Jan. 2, is an […]
The head of Hezbollah said the group intends to keep fighting in Syria. Two of three women arrested this week in an explosives-rigged car in the Bekaa valley were released; driver Joumana Hmeid was detained. Security forces near the Baalbek village of Ham dismantled a car rigged with 240 kg of explosives; authorities said the […]
Prime Minister Tammam Salam announced the formation of a 24-member Cabinet, after 10 months of negotiations. The centrist Salam said the new Cabinet achieves sectarian balance; its composition means that rival blocs have veto power. Former prime minister Saad Hariri said Hezbollah’s participation in the Syrian conflict is sabotaging ties between Sunnis and Shiites in […]
Border control, political accord needed to shield Lebanon
Refugees rush into Arsal, more expected
A judicial source warned that recent arrests of Naim Abbas and other al Qaeda-linked terrorists have not eliminated the “dozens of … groups created by Al Qaeda and its offshoots, such as the Abdullah Azzam Brigades, the Nusrah Front, and the Jammal Jarrah Brigades.” Authorities charged Nawaf al-Hussein with involvement in the Haret Hreik suicide […]
Security forces in Beirut arrested Naim Abbas, a leader of the al Qaeda-linked Abdullah Azzam Brigades who reportedly has ties to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham. His interrogation led to the dismantling of a car bomb in the Afif al-Tibeh neighborhood, where a would-be suicide bomber was also arrested. Security forces in […]
Battle on Lebanese border as Syria talks falter
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 […]