Al-Jadeed TV Receives 'Hoax' Bombing Threats, Security Forces Cordon Off Neighborhood

Security forces on Saturday evening cordoned off the area surrounding the building of al-Jadeed television in the Beirut neighborhood of Wata el-Msaytbeh after threats to bomb it were launched, the state-run National News Agency reported.

“Al-Jadeed TV received bombing threats via the social networking website Twitter,” the NNA detailed, adding that since then, security forces have cordoned off the region nearby the channel's headquarters in southern Beirut.

It added: “Investigation was launched to identify the person behind the threats.”

Later in the evening, the same source said security forces arrested under investigation two men behind the threats.

They said their message via Twitter "was a joke."

In June 2012, several men attacked al-Jadeed's headquarters, opening fire on the building, hurling Molotov bombs and setting fire to tires.

“Masked attackers assaulted the employees and burned tires after trying to storm the building,” al-Jadeed news director Mariam al-Bassam told MTV.

“Four masked gunmen opened fire outside al-Jadeed's building and hurled Molotov bombs that caused a fire in the building's entrance,” reported LBCI television.

The Internal Security Forces’ Intelligence Bureau managed to arrest one of the attackers, identifying him as Wissam Alaeddine, who has ties with the Hizbullah-linked Resistance Brigades.