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Abdullah Azzam Brigades
Lebanon – Three hotspots could erupt into violence
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Lebanon
Lebanese Army chief Gen. Kahwagi said as many as 20 of the soldiers kidnapped by Islamists in Arsal are missing and possibly dead; 17 other security personnel were also taken captive. Former Free Syrian Army spokesman Ahmad al Qusair, the go-between in contacts of the Muslim Scholars Committee and the militants, said negotiations for the captives’ release are at an impasse as the militants’ demands will be too costly. Kahwagi said the outskirts of Arsal are still “relatively kidnapped” by the Islamists. The military prosecutor charged 43 jihadists, 33 of whom are at large, for terrorists acts during recent clashes…
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The Muslim Scholars Committee and the Lebanese tinderbox
A group of Lebanese clerics with links to Islamist groups mediated a ceasefire between the Lebanese military and fighters from the Islamic Front and the Al Nusrah Front in Arsal, which let as many as 2,000 Islamist fighters escape with over captive 35 Lebanese security forces.
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Al Nusrah Front
Lebanon – Arsali and refugee relations tense
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Lebanon
The Islamic State released a video of seven captured Lebanese soldiers; negotiations for the release of some 35 kidnapped security forces are said to be ongoing. The military court has received the cases of captured Islamist commander Imad Jomaa and nine other militants arrested during recent clashes in Arsal.
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Lebanon
The head of Lebanese armed forces said the Islamic State had tried to set up a bridgehead in Arsal from which to attack Shiite areas and engulf the country in sectarian strife. French sources said that Saudi Arabian red tape has delayed the shipment of arms from France to Lebanon. The British ambassador conveyed the UK’s offer to help the Lebanese military protect its borders by providing training and equipment.
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Lebanon
Army Commander General Jean Qahwaji said the military’s recent intervention in Arsal “saved Lebanon from a deadly sectarian rift,” and said his priority now was ensuring the return of some 35 security forces abducted by Islamist militants. Palestinian ambassador Ashraf Dabbour claimed that Islamic State militants are not present in the Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon.
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Lebanon
Lebanese villagers near Kfar Qouq reportedly forced Islamist fighters back across the border into Syria after an armed clash with them. Gunmen ambushed Lebanese politician and Naharnet editor Naufal Daou in the Bekaa Valley town of al-Tibeh, opening fire on his car, but he managed to escape. Security forces arrested seven people from a Syrian refugee camp in Koura in connection with recent clashes between Islamists and the military in Arsal. Former prime minister Saad Hariri said he will make a $15 million personal donation to help Arsal residents rebuild.
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Hezbollah
Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, ISIS and Hezbollah
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Lebanon
Residents began returning to Arsal, and security was stepped up in the town, after Islamist militants withdrew following a ceasefire. Reports said that the Al Nusrah Front militants left town and the Islamic State militants crossed over into Syria. The militants are said to be holding at least 35 Lebanese security forces as hostages, divided between Al Nusrah and IS, and to be demanding the release of 20 Islamist prisoners, including Imad Ahmad Joumaa. An Islamist sniper was arrested in Arsal, and several persons were arrested at a Syrian refugee camp in Khirbet Daoud. Former Prime Minister Saad Hariri returned…
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Al Nusrah Front
Lebanese Army in control after militants flee Arsal
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Europe
Patriarchs decry Christian exodus, demand UN act
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Lebanon
Al Nusrah Front and Islamic State militants began withdrawing from Arsal, after releasing six kidnapped Lebanese security forces; the militants still hold 17 ISF personnel and 10 soldiers, according to the Committee of Muslim Scholars, which mediated a ceasefire that started yesterday. Al Nusrah said the remaining kidnapped soldiers have a “special status.” Abou Talal, the deputy of Imad Jomaa, an Islamist commander whose arrest triggered the recent clashes, has also been involved in negotiations. The truce has reportedly allowed most of the roughly 2,000 Islamist fighters to leave the town; a large convoy of Syrian refugees also left. Lebanese…
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Lebanon
A brief humanitarian truce in Arsal fell apart after Islamist militants resumed attacks on the Army. The militants, who include fighters from the Al Nusrah Front and from the Islamic State, released several kidnapped security forces but still hold dozens more. Hezbollah said its fighters have not participated in the clashes and that it has been providing only logistical support. Abu Hasan al Homsi, an Islamic State commander, was reportedly killed in Arsal. Clashes also erupted in Tripoli and gunmen opened fire on a bus carrying soldiers, wounding seven, one of them critically. Experts say it will be difficult for…
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Lebanon
Lebanese back Army, but fear for future
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Al Nusrah Front
New Border Fighting Between ISIS and Lebanon’s Army
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Lebanon
After three days of clashes with Islamist militants around Arsal, the army said 14 soldiers were killed, 86 wounded, and 22 are missing; at least 50 civilians and some 50 militants are also said to have been killed. The government vowed to protect Arsal, demanding the militants’ withdrawal and refusing to cut a deal. A delegation from the Muslim Scholars Committee arrived in Arsal to negotiate a ceasefire; the government wants the release of 22 soldiers and 21 policemen kidnapped by the militants, and the Islamists seek the release of their recently arrested leader Imad Ahmad Jomaa, who commands brigades…
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Lebanon
Lebanese Sunni clerics urge protests over bombardment of Arsal
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Lebanon
Following two days of clashes in Arsal between the Al Nusrah Front and Lebanese forces, Army Chief Kawaghi said 10 soldiers had been killed, 25 wounded, and 13 more were missing. He also said the capture of Al Nusrah commander Imad Jomaa, who was detained while putting on the “final touches” for a long-planned attack in the area, was not the triggering factor for the clashes. Residents are fleeing the battle in Arsal; the Army has sent in reinforcements. Some 20 abducted soldiers appeared in an Al Nusrah video professing their “defection” from the Army and Hezbollah. Al Nusrah also…
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Hezbollah
Tribesmen force Islamic State militants out of Syrian villages
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Hamas
In Tunnel War, Israeli Playbook Offers Few Ideas
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Al Nusrah Front
Lebanon – Arsal officials demand a Tripoli-style security plan
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Lebanon
The army detained seven or eight Syrians in Arsal suspected of membership in the Al Nusrah Front. Hezbollah and the Syrian regime are waging a war of attrition against jihadists from Al Nusrah and the Islamic State that are holed up in the mountainous border areas near Arsal and Qalamoun. A top Hezbollah official was killed in the Qalamoun area on July 28 along with three other Hezbollah fighters.
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Hamas
Hamas Hopes for Hizbullah Assistance against Israel from South Lebanon
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Lebanon
UNIFIL Says Lebanon Situation ‘Very Critical,’ Assures Calm Is ‘Guaranteed’
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Fatah
Islamic Jihad: No ceasefire until Gaza blockade is lifted
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Lebanon
The Al Nusrah Front and Hezbollah clashed for the past two days on the Lebanese border near Arsal, where some 4,000 Syrian rebel fighters are said to be holed up. The Army arrested a Syrian man in Brital and confiscated military equipment, ammunition, and six cars, two of which were stolen. The Free Sunnis of Baalbek Brigade made threats on Twitter against the head of Lebanon’s cybercrime agency after she said the operators of the group’s previous Twitter account would soon be arrested.
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Hamas
Israel army on alert on Syria, Lebanon border
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Lebanon
A judge issued arrest warrants for three Palestinians suspected of membership in the Al Nusrah Front. Hezbollah chief Nasrallah said the group would provide “all means of support” to the Palestinian resistance. Clashes broke out at an Army checkpoint in Arsal, and a Syrian Air Force strike just inside the Lebanese border near Arsal killed some 20 Syrian rebel fighters.
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Lebanon
The Al Nusrah Front posted video of a Lebanese soldier who defected to join the terror group. A Palestinian who was kidnapped in Baalbek was released after a $100,000 ransom was paid. Four rockets launched from the Syrian border area landed in Bekaa Valley towns.
