Army Says Foiled 'Series of Suicide Attacks' after Jabal Mohsen Blasts

The army revealed Thursday that its Intelligence Directorate had thwarted a plot to carry out a “series of suicide attacks” in the wake of the deadly twin bombing that rocked Tripoli's Jabal Mohsen.

Military intelligence agents arrested “Bassam Hussam al-Naboush, Elie Tony al-Warraq, aka Abou Ali, and Syrian national Muhannad Ali Mohammed Abdul Qader, who were plotting to carry out terrorist operations against army posts and residential neighborhoods,” the Army Command said in a statement.

They were moving around the country with fake Syrian and Palestinian IDs, the army added.

“Investigations revealed that they were affiliated with the group led by the fugitives Osama Mansour and Shadi al-Mawlawi,” the army said.

The charges also involve “pledging allegiance to terrorist groups, taking part in combat in Syria, attacking the (Lebanese) army, and participating in the clashes between the Jabal Mohsen and Bab al-Tabbaneh districts.”

“The interrogation of the detainees is underway under the supervision of the relevant judicial authorities, while the rest of the group's members are being pursued,” the army added.

Mansour, Mawlawi and their gunmen fought unprecedented clashes against the army in Tripoli's old souks and Bab al-Tabbaneh on October 24 and 25. The battles also spread to the nearby northern regions of Bhannine and al-Mhammara.

The Islamist duo went into hiding as the army seized control of the aforementioned areas.

On Saturday, two suicide bombers who hail from Tripoli's al-Mankoubeen targeted a packed cafe in Jabal Mohsen, killing nine and wounding 37 others.

Y.R.

M.T.