Gunmen Rob Arsal Quarry, Leave Death Threat for Owner

Masked gunmen robbed Thursday a stone quarry in the Bekaa border town of Arsal and left a death threat for its owner.

“Eight masked gunmen riding two 4x4 pickups – a black GMC and a black Tacoma – stole equipment at gunpoint from a stone quarry owned by Bilal Mahmoud al-Hujeiri in the Arsal area of Wadi Zaarour,” state-run National News Agency reported.

The armed men asked workers to tell the owner that “his head is wanted by the Islamic State on charges of collaborating with the Lebanese army,” NNA added.

The attackers then fled to an unknown destination, the agency said.

In September, jihadists from the IS and the Qaida-linked al-Nusra Front seized several bulldozers from three stone-crushing plants in Arsal and took them to its outskirts.

Fighters from the two groups had in August fought deadly battles against the Lebanese army in Arsal, during which they killed around 20 troops and abducted dozens of soldiers and policemen.

The militants have also kidnapped and killed several civilians in Arsal and its outskirts.

Y.R.