Interior Minister Machnouk said Lebanon will combat terrorism without coordinating with the international coalition. The mayor of Arsal dismissed rumors that residents are providing fuel to terrorists. Relatives of the over 20 kidnapped Lebanese troops urged the Al Nusrah Front and the Islamic State to stop making death threats against their sons. Security forces are […]
Lebanon likely to play defense role in ISIS fight
The Army killed “dozens” of Al Nusrah Front militants who were fleeing clashes with Syrian forces near the border in Qalamoun. Security forces arrested three Syrians accused of membership in an armed terrorist group in Baalbek. Army intelligence recently detained a Saudi commander of a 100-fighter Islamic State group after he arrived in Beirut from […]
Christians of Akkar keep eye on ISIS threat
Syrian jets shelled a 400-meter tunnel near the border town of Arsal. The Al Nusrah Front released a video showing two kidnapped Lebanese soldiers pleading for the release of Islamist inmates from Roumieh Prison. Al Nusrah also warned Lebanese politicians that Hezbollah must be pulled out of Syria “in order to preserve the safety of […]
Authorities conducted raids in Tripoli, and arrested three men wanted by Interpol, including Sami Mohammed Dib Bakir a.k.a. Minaa, a Syrian said to be a dangerous member of the Al Nusrah Front. State media also reported “moves by Nusrah-linked armed groups.” Gunmen kidnapped a Lebanese man in Arsal reportedly because he was working with Hezbollah.
Militants from the Al Nusrah Front and the Islamic State raided three quarries in Arsal, smashing equipment and taking away several bulldozers into the hills. Tripoli Osama Mansour, 27, the head of a 20-member group of militants, expressed admiration for the Al Nusrah Front and the Islamic State but denied that his group had sworn […]
Kerry plays down hopes of imminent anti-Islamic State coalition
The Army defused a 100-kilogram car bomb in a vehicle parked near a military checkpoint in Arsal; the Army had targeted jihadists in the area the night before. At least four Hezbollah fighters were killed in fighting against jihadists in a Bekaa Valley town. A Hezbollah official claimed that the group is coordinating with both […]
Arab Nations Vow Help to Fight ISIS ‘as Appropriate’
US wins Arab support for Syria/Iraq military campaign
Police arrested two Lebanese men suspected of spraying pro-Islamic State graffiti in Tripoli; the graffiti threatens that the IS is coming. Security was stepped up around a Beirut hospital said to be treating wounded members of the Al Nusrah Front and the Islamic State. Foreign Minister Bassil called for a united international front against the […]
A Beirut hospital is treating six Al Nusrah Front terrorists wounded during clashes in Arsal last month; three are Lebanese, two are Syrians, and one is a Chechen. One of the six is said to be “very dangerous.” Two rockets from Arsal landed in the Bekaa Valley. One of the Lebanese soldiers abducted by Al […]
The Islamic State said that Abou al-Hassan al-Filastini a.k.a. Ahmed Taha, its emir for Qalamoun, was killed while fighting the Lebanese Army in Arsal on Aug. 4. Taha was said to have earlier joined the Abdullah Azzam Brigades. The Army arrested three Syrians and three Lebanese in Ras Baalbek yesterday, and confiscated “109 detonators, reels, […]
Iron Dome would not cope with Hezbollah missiles: report
The Al Nusrah Front threatened Sunnis that they will “pay the price” if they support the Lebanese Army in its fight against “your brothers, the mujahideen.” Al Nusrah and the Islamic State are said to have told Qatari mediators that they want $5 million and the release of 400 Islamist inmates from Lebanese jails in […]
Lebanon’s Muslim officials sign petition against Christian exodus
Arrest warrants were issued for six Syrians and one Lebanese who are linked to detained Islamic State commander Imad Jomaa. An Israeli drone detonated a spy device that a Hezbollah operative was trying to dismantle in southern Lebanon, killing a Hezbollah explosives expert and wounding at least one more. The day after the government rejected […]
A closer look at recent developments in a number of countries should dispel any illusions that the Islamic State’s aspirations and activities are only regional.
ISIS said to want inmates freed to help create Lebanon base
Islamic State militants kidnapped and then executed a man in Arsal, a week after beheading a kidnapped Lebanese soldier. The military arrested a bombing suspect in Tripoli. Families of 23 Lebanese troops held captive by the Al Nusrah Front and the Islamic State protested in Beirut. Graffiti containing Islamic State threats against Christians is appearing […]
What does the Lebanese Army need to confront the jihadist threat?
Arrest warrants were issued for six Syrians and a Lebanese man who are linked to detained Islamic State commander Imad Jomaa, who heads the IS’ Fajr al-Islam Brigade. Two Syrians from Idlib were arrested in Nabatieh for possession of Islamic State headbands and posters. The Army engaged in an hourlong clash with Syrian militants last […]
Fighting on Golan border puts Israel on the spot
A Kuwaiti news outlet claimed that Hezbollah had detained three Al Nusrah Front commanders in Qalamoun who could be exchanged for kidnapped Lebanese security forces; Hezbollah denied knowledge of the report. Another report said Al Nusrah plans to release kidnapped Sunni, Christian, and Druze troops but will hang on to captive Shiites. Al Nusrah released […]
Al Nusrah Front warns Lebanon’s Christians against following Aoun
The Islamic State posted video of a captive Lebanese soldier pleading for the release of Islamist inmates from Roumieh Prison. The Al Nusrah Front threatened to kill captive Lebanese soldiers if Hezbollah does not withdraw from fighting in Qalamoun in Syria. A Hezbollah official warned that the Islamic State intends to take over Lebanon as […]
The Lebanese branch of the Al Nusrah Front said it has handed over five kidnapped Lebanese troops who belong to the Sunni sect, as the group’s fight “is not against the Sunnis.” Authorities arrested six Syrians and eight Lebanese in Zahle who are suspected of forging documents for terrorist groups, and confiscated official seals for […]
Lebanon’s Roumieh prison a hotbed for terrorists
Hundreds of US-donated anti-tank guided missiles, rifles, mortars, and other weapons have been delivered to Lebanon after it requested the equipment to help fight terrorists in the country, and more heavy weaponry is expected to arrive in the coming weeks. Maronite Patriarch Beshara Rai called for the creation of a UN military force to stop […]