Report: Army Detains Prominent ISIL Leader as Crackdown on Extremists Ongoing

The Army Intelligence had detained recently a “dangerous” Saudi national, reportedly the leader of a group affiliated to the Islamist State of Iraq and the Levant, As Safir newspaper reported on Tuesday.

The Saudi national, whose identity remained unknown, was arrested at the Rafik Hariri International Airport as he arrived from Turkey.

Sources told the newspaper that his arrest comes in light of information obtained by security agencies that he leads a terrorist group in Syria, comprised of more than 100 jihadists.

The sources pointed out that the army detained several fugitives, suspected of having links with terrorist groups, during raids carried out across Lebanon.

The army began cracking down on Syrian encampments after troops battled jihadists who overran the northeastern border town of Arsal in August.

A Syrian national was also arrested at the northern city of Tripoli, reportedly a field commander at ISIL.

His 15-year-old son was also apprehended.

There are fears that jihadists from the Islamic State, which has captured a swathe of Iraq and Syria, would threaten to destabilize the security situation in Lebanon.

H.K.

G.K.