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Conflict Incident Report
Army arrests Nusra emir’s relatives
The Lebanese Army arrested the sister and son of a Nusra Front commander Monday, a security source said, as Lebanese authorities detained nine people on the fifth day of a security crackdown in the Bekaa Valley.
Speaking to The Daily Star, the source said the Army arrested the sister of Abu Malek al-Talleh, the Nusra Front’s commander for the Qalamoun region, and her son at a checkpoint at the entrance to Arsal’s outskirts.
The two were detained when they were heading toward Arsal’s outskirts at an Army checkpoint in Wadi Hmeid, the source added.
According to the source, Army units across Arsal, and especially by the entrances to the outskirts, were mobilized in anticipation of a possible revenge attack over the arrest.
A senior Army source told The Daily Star that the military was working on confirming the identity of the detained woman and her son.
The arrest of Talleh’s relatives could serve as a major bargaining chip for Lebanon in the negotiations to release 25 Lebanese servicemen held by the Nusra Front and ISIS in the outskirts of Arsal.
The two groups captured the security personnel during battles with the Lebanese Army in the northeastern town last August.
Meanwhile, members of a joint security force entered the village of Dar al-Wasaa, west of Baalbek, another security source said, adding that other raids took place in neighboring towns previously targeted in the campaign.
The Army released a statement announcing that its units arrested two Lebanese and four Syrian nationals in raids in the villages of Brital, Tal al-Abyad and as-Safir. Hours earlier, police announced the arrest of three others.
The arrests were made in cases of forged entry permits for Syrians and unregistered vehicles.
The statement added that 470 kilograms of hashish was seized in the raids of Dar al-Wasaa, 400 kilograms of which were in an unprocessed form.
The military also found quantities of heroin, Captagon and equipment used for drug processing, according to the statement.
The source told The Daily Star that the force was also searching for members of the Jaafar clan behind the killing of a Christian couple in November last year.
The source said the Jaafar clan is widely established in the village, and the security forces are committed to arresting the murderers of Nadimeh and Sobhi Fakhri in the village of Btedaai.
The security plan also led to the arrest Monday of three Lebanese nationals in the eastern town of Brital, police said in a statement. Police also seized two stolen cars, the statement added.
The latest arrests bring the total number of detainees to 137 since the security plan was launched Thursday.
In a joint operation with the Internal Security Forces and General Security, the Army also discovered many drug factories and confiscated quantities of drugs, stolen vehicles and weapons during the crackdown.
The senior Army source said that the security plan would expand within days.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Lebanon-News/2015/Feb-17/287682-army-ar...