Army Informed about Recruitment of Fighters in Europe

The Lebanese army obtained satellite information from major countries that several Middle Eastern states that have embassies in Europe are recruiting fighters to engage in terrorist acts, An Nahar newspaper reported on Monday.

The daily said that the mentioned embassies are mostly recruiting north African nationals to train them to carry out security operations in the region.

The report noted that a certain embassy recruited 1,800 Tunisian members.

However, the newspaper said that western countries that have satellites in the Middle East briefed the army on the matter, which indicates that Lebanon will not become “another Iraq.”

A member of the Internal Security Forces was killed and at least 30 people were wounded in a car bombing that targeted an ISF checkpoint in the Dahr al-Baydar area on Friday.

The army recently boosted its security measures after obtaining information of a terrorist act planned to be carried out across Lebanon by a group linked to the Abdullah Azzam Brigades.

The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), which grew from the ranks of al-Qaida before splitting with the global terror network, is active in both Syria and neighboring Iraq and seeks to set up an Islamic state that straddles both countries.

H.K.

G.K.