Security Forces Arrest Hoblos, Kill Fugitives in Tripoli

Security forces succeeded on Thursday in arresting and killing prominent fugitives wanted on terrorism charges, most notably Sheikh Khaled Hoblos, who is wanted for his involvement in clashes with the army in Bhannine in late 2014.

An Internal Security Forces statement late on Thursday announced that Hoblos was arrested while riding in a Kia Picanto vehicle that was driven by Amir al-Kurdi in the northern city of Tripoli.

Soon after, an Opel vehicle, with two passengers on board, opened fire at the security forces, slightly wounding two members.

The forces retaliated at the car, killing the two passengers.

They were later identified as Osama Mansour and Ahmed al-Nazer.

They also determined that Masnour had opened fire.

He also possessed an explosive belt that a military expert has since dismantled, added the communique.

As Safir newspaper Friday said that the ISF Intelligence Bureau managed to pursue and kill Mansour and al-Nazer in an ambush in the Miatayn crossroads in Tripoli.

The Bureau had been monitoring the telephone calls of a terrorist group, finding out that some of its members will be holding a meeting at a cafe in Tripoli's Bab al-Tabbaneh neighborhood.

An Intelligence Bureau unit, under the surveillance of Interior Minister Nouhad al-Mashnouq, was summoned to raid the cafe and arrest the suspects.

As it approached the scene, the unit was surprised with the appearance of two cars leaving the area at high speeds.

They took the al-Zahriyeh road leading towards the Miatayn crossroads near an army checkpoint.

The security forces sought to block the road against one of the cars, which was transporting Mansour and al-Nazer, in order to apprehend the passengers, said As Safir.

They were instead met with gunshots from the other car that was following it and transporting Hoblos and three of his armed companions.

Two members of the ISF unit were seriously wounded in the clash that lasted about five minutes, added As Safir.

The army was also involved in the incident.

Mansour and al-Nazer were killed in the unrest, while Hoblos was wounded and arrested.

He has been transported to the ISF General Directorate in Beirut where investigations are underway with him.

His companions in the car managed to flee the scene.

The army has since cordoned off the area where the clash took place and forensic experts discovered a number of weapons, hand grenades, and explosive belts in the fugitives' abandoned vehicles.

In October, the army engaged in clashes in the northern town of Bhannine with Islamist gunmen led by Hoblos.

The clashes in Bhannine coincided at the time with unprecedented fighting between the army and Islamist militants in Tripoli's old souks and Bab al-Tabbaneh neighborhood.

A number of the members of Hoblos' Islamist network have since been arrested.

Mansour is wanted on terrorism charges.

In January, he was implicated, along with 27 others, in the double suicide bombing that rocked the Jabal Mohsen district of Tripoli earlier that month.

Mansour, along with prominent fugitive Shadi al-Mawlawi, was wanted for leading armed groups that engaged in deadly gunbattles with the army in Tripoli and its surrounding areas in October.

Mansour and al-Mawlawi were also charged with recruiting people for the purpose of carrying out terrorist attacks, assaulting the army and planting bombs.

M.T.

H.K.