Al-Mustaqbal Movement leader ex-PM Saad Hariri will announce his endorsement of the presidential bid of Free Patriotic Movement founder MP Michel Aoun “this week,” MP Alain Aoun of the FPM said on Monday.

The army on Monday bombed militant posts in the outskirts of three eastern border towns, inflicting heavy casualties on the extremist Islamic State group, state-run National News Agency reported.

The agency said the army “fired heavy artillery and multiple rocket launchers at the posts of the militants in the outskirts of al-Qaa and Ras Baalbek after detecting suspicious movements.”

Al-Mustaqbal Movement leader ex-PM Saad Hariri returned Monday evening to Beirut from a foreign trip.

A French diplomat held talks Monday in Bkirki with Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi over the most important developments on the local and regional scenes, Lebanon's National News Agency reported.

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea on Monday discussed the latest developments regarding the presidential file with a visiting French delegation, state-run National News Agency reported.

The Kataeb Party on Monday said that it rejects attempts to “turn the process of electing a president from a democratic practice” into a “deal.”

Tripoli MP and ex-PM Najib Miqati told a Free Patriotic Movement delegation on Monday that there is a “major gap” between his supporters and FPM founder MP Michel Aoun, whose chances to be elected president have largely surged in recent days.

The army on Monday raided a number of Syrian refugee encampments and residence places in the outskirts of the Akkar towns of al-Sheikh Mohammed, Halba and Tal Abbas, state-run National News Agency reported.

State Commissioner to the Military Court Judge Saqr Saqr prosecuted the so-called Emir of the Islamic State group in Ain el-Hilweh, Imad Yassine, and 17 others on charges of carrying out terror acts in favor of the Islamic State group, the National News Agency reported on Monday.

Most of the prosecuted were Palestinian nationals and they include a prisoner from the Akkoush family, added NNA.

State Commissioner to the Military Court Judge Saqr Saqr appealed a decision to release Muslim cleric Sheikh Bassam Tarras over links to a terror group, the National News Agency reported on Monday.

First Military Investigative Judge Riad Abou Ghaida questioned the ex-Mufti Tarras Monday and released him on travel ban, NNA said.