Army Raids Bab al-Tabbaneh as General Security Arrests 'IS Mufti'

The Lebanese army heavily deployed on Sunday in the Bab al-Tabbaneh neighborhood in the northern coastal city of Tripoli, as the General Security apprehended a prominent member of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).

Troops raided several areas in the neighborhood in search of suspects.

According to Voice of Lebanon radio (93.3), three wanted outlaws have been so far apprehended in the military raid.

The state run National News Agency reported later that the General Security detained an ISIL official on Saturday.

It identified him as Ibrahim Barakat.

VDL (93.3) said that Barakat was recruiting members to join ISIL ranks and engage in battles in Iraq and Syria.

A security source meanwhile told AFP that Ibrahim was arrested early on Sunday and is accused of being "a religious jurist for the IS in the northern city of Tripoli."

Barakat, who is in his 40s, was arrested while trying to flee northern Lebanon to Turkey using a fake passport, the source said.

He is accused of recruiting young men from Tripoli to fight with IS in Syria and Iraq and of attacking Lebanese army units in the northern city last year, said the source.

Lebanese security forces are implementing strict security measures and have recently kicked off security plans across the country to reduce crime rate and clamp down on terrorists.

The large-scale raids have led to the arrest of scores of offenders.