Clashes erupted at Hezbollah bases from Baalbek to Arsal between Syria-based Al Nusrah Front fighters and Hezbollah forces seeking to repel them; at least 16 Al Nusrah fighters, including commander Mohammed Khalid Hamza Suhaib, and two Hezbollah fighters were said to have been killed. Other reports said the infiltrators were from the Islamic State. The […]
The Army repelled an attempt by gunmen in Wadi Hmeid and al-Masyadeh to infiltrate near Arsal. Jihadists in the area are said to be seeking access to Arsal for food and fuel. Lebanese forces discovered a 50-kilogram bomb set to detonate near a military checkpoint outside Arsal and disabled it. A few days earlier, over […]
A Chronicler of Syria’s Conflict Returns to the Spotlight, Minus a Disguise
The Al Nusrah Front denied reports that it had promised not to execute captive Lebanese troops, and said it has withdrawn from negotiations for their release and will execute captives for any measures taken against Sunnis. The head of the Lebanese Army said the military is pursuing a terrorist cell in Tripoli and expects more […]
The Al Nusrah Front continues to use its Lebanese hostages in its propaganda campaign against Iran and Hezbollah.
Will Lebanon swap prisoners with Islamic State, Al Nusrah?
Abu Muhammad al Julani seeks to undermine public support for airstrikes in Syria by arguing that citizens in the West, and not just their rulers, will pay the price for the war. Julani also discusses Al Nusrah’s fight against Hezbollah and urges jihadists not to join the West in the fight against the Islamic State.
Wanted Islamists Shadi al Mawlawi and Osama Abu Mansourd are thought to be forming a group in Tripoli with links to the Islamic State or the Al Nusrah Front. A Tripoli politician reported suspicious activity threatening his home after being criticized in social media by extremist groups. Former premier Saad Hariri said the Syrian National […]
Syria’s Qaeda chief warns West against continued strikes
Hezbollah squeezed out of Golan by Al Nusrah Front, Israel
Abou Malek al Talleh, the Al Nusrah Front’s emir for Qalamoun, warned that “jihadists are in their thousands across Lebanon, awaiting the permission to start the battle” and that Al Nusrah has “managed to break all the security barriers in all Lebanese regions,” and he promised a quick solution to inmates of Roumieh Prison. A […]
Worrying reports emerge of ISIS plans to wreak havoc in Lebanon
Sirajuddine Zureiqat, a spokesman for the Abdullah Azzam Brigades, is said to be now involved in the hostage situation involving at least 21 Lebanese troops kidnapped by the Al Nusrah Front and the Islamic Front. Unnamed militants opened fire on three Army checkpoints in Tripoli, wounding a soldier.
Fears in Lebanon rise over Western plans to defeat IS
The Al Nusrah Front, al Qaeda’s official branch in Syria, has threatened to kill a second Lebanese hostage. The group has already executed a Lebanese soldier who had been held in its custody since August.
The Army shelled terrorist positions in Arsal and killed a number of militants. The Al Nusrah Front claimed a suicide car bombing on a Hezbollah checkpoint in Khreibeh near the Syrian border that reportedly killed three people and destroyed a cannon. Al Nusrah released a video of its execution of a captive Lebanese soldier, and […]
The Al Nusrah Front, al Qaeda’s official branch in Syria, has repeatedly threatened to kill a Lebanese soldier in its custody this week. In a tweet earlier today, the group said that the soldier was the “first casualty” in its stalled negotiations with the Lebanese military.
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 […]