Lebanese Army says arrested IS Lebanon leader
The Lebanese Army said it has arrested the suspected leader of the Islamic State group in Lebanon after implicating him in planning several operations.
"Following a series of security, surveillance and monitoring operations, the Intelligence Directorate arrested citizen R.F., nicknamed "Qasoura", a prominent leader of the terrorist organization Daesh," the army said, using the Arabic acronym for IS.
Weapons and ammunitions were also seized.
According to the army, Qasoura took over the group's Lebanon branch after the arrest of several prominent figures in December.
The announcement comes days after a suicide bomber killed at least 25 people in a church in neighboring Syria, with authorities there blaming IS.
IS and other Sunni extremist groups fought several battles with the Lebanese Army in the 2010s and carried out a series of deadly bombings targeting Shiite militant group Hezbollah and its supporters.
But they were largely defeated militarily in 2017.
Source: Agence France Presse
| Copyright © 2012 Naharnet.com. All Rights Reserved. | https://naharnet.com/stories/en/313804 |