Tag Archives: lebanon

Arrest warrants were issued for Islamic State commander Imad Jomaa, who was detained in Arsal on Aug. 2, and Ahmad Jomaa, another militant; authorities are continuing to interrogate 18 other suspects who were arrested during the Arsal clashes. Imad Jomaa is charged with crimes including attempting to set up an Islamic emirate in Arsal. Military […]

Security forces intercepted a vehicle loaded with RPGs in Hermel and detained the driver and a passenger; and arrested 32 Syrians in refugee camps in north and east Lebanon who did not have proper identification. Syrian airstrikes targeted border areas near Al-Rawhe outside Arsal. The Arab Tawhid Party announced it was closing its offices in […]

The Muslim Scholars Committee asked the government to appoint a “neutral” mediator in negotiations for the release of kidnapped Lebanese security forces being held by Islamist militants; MSC chief Sheikh Malek Jadida said the abductors had “humanitarian” demands and that they also called for the withdrawal of Hezbollah from Syria. Turkey, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia […]

Imad Jomaa, an Islamist commander captured on Aug. 2 in Arsal, reportedly confessed that he had been tasked with coordinating the takeover of Arsal and other Lebanese towns in the Bekaa Valley and the north so that an Islamic emirate could be established in the area with Abdullah Azzam Brigades spokesman Sirajeddine Zureiqat as its […]

The Muslim Scholars Committee delivered video to the government that shows nine kidnapped Lebanese troops being held captive by Islamists. The Al Nusrah Front and the Islamic Front also released lists of names of those held captive. Security forces arrested three Syrians in the Bekaa Valley for posting the logo of an extremist group in […]

The Muslim Scholars Committee suspended its mediation efforts for the release of 29 Lebanese security forces kidnapped by the Al Nusrah Front and the Islamic State, citing the new role of an unnamed foreign actor in the negotiations. Abu Talal, a Syrian from Qusair who has represented the Islamic State in the negotiations, has taken […]

Abou Taymour al Dandashi, a Salafist militia leader who was arrested for his role in Tripoli clashes, was released from Roumieh Prison; judicial sources claimed he was not a militia leader. Government officials are refusing to divulge details of the negotiations for the release of security forces held captive by Islamist militants, but some say […]

Muslim Scholars Committee (MSC) negotiators reported that the Al Nusrah Front and the Islamic State have said they will release the remaining 29 kidnapped Lebanese security forces if Hezbollah withdraws all of its fighters from Syria. Another report claimed that the Qataris have become involved in the negotiations, and that Al Nusrah and the Islamic […]

The interrogation of Islamist commander Imad Jomaa was postponed after his lawyer submitted documents alleging that his confession and those of 42 other suspects arrested during recent clashes in Arsal were coerced. Sheikh Amama of the Muslim Scholars Committee said he decided to collaborate with Sister Agnes-Mariam of the Cross after she arranged the repatriation […]

Sheikh Adnan Amama of the Muslim Scholars Committee said the Islamist militants still holding Lebanese security forces captive have issued a list of their demands; he said the government has asked that the details of the demands be kept from the media. Amama said the Islamic State holds 11 soldiers and a corpse, and the […]

Two Lebanese security forces were released by their Al Nusrah Front captors after negotiations by the Muslim Scholars Committee. In return, the militants reportedly were assured that the “security grip on Arsal Syrian refugee camps will be eased.” A negotiator, Sheikh Mustafa al-Hujeiri a.k.a. Abu Taqiyeh, said there may be more kidnapped security personnel as […]

The US issued a travel warning for Lebanon noting that the Islamic State, the Al Nusrah Front, the Abdullah Azzam Brigades, and Hezbollah all operate there, and stressed the increasing frequency of suicide bombings. A Free Syrian Army fighter was arrested in Sidon. Assad regime forces warned residents of the border town of Tfail to […]

Security forces arrested a 19-year-old Lebanese man in Baalbek suspected of operating the Twitter account of the so-called “Free Sunnis of Baalbek Brigade.” Sheikh Adnana Amama, of the Muslim Scholars Committee delegation negotiating with the Islamists who kidnapped Lebanese security forces in Arsal, said the committee may withdraw from its mission given Lebanon’s lack of […]

Lebanese Army chief Gen. Kahwagi said as many as 20 of the soldiers kidnapped by Islamists in Arsal are missing and possibly dead; 17 other security personnel were also taken captive. Former Free Syrian Army spokesman Ahmad al Qusair, the go-between in contacts of the Muslim Scholars Committee and the militants, said negotiations for the […]

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 […]