Report: Army Arrests Suspected Terrorists, Raises Alertness to Counter Sleeper Cells

The Lebanese Army Intelligence has arrested eight suspects who have entered Lebanon from the Syrian town of Zabadani to carry out terrorist activities, As Safir daily reported on Friday.

The newspaper said that the arrests took place on Thursday in parallel with a preemptive strike launched by the military against jihadists from the Islamic State group on the outskirts of Ras Baalbek in eastern Lebanon.

One soldier and five extremists were killed in the fighting.

As Safir said that troops have also increased their level of alertness after reports that Abou Malek al-Talli, the emir of al-Nusra Front in Syria's Qalamoun area near the Lebanese border, is seeking to reactive dormant cells in northern Lebanon, mainly in the city of Tripoli.

Soldiers have closed ranks and the army leadership raised their defense readiness to the maximum level to ward off any possible attack.

The military took the measures not only in northern Lebanon and the eastern Bekaa Valley, but also in Beirut, the capital's southern suburbs and areas abutting some Palestinian refugee camps, As Safir added.