You are here
Conflict Incident Report
ISF arrests man suspected of Arsal terrorism
The Internal Security Forces announced Thursday the arrest of a man suspected of belonging to the Nusra Front and fighting in the northeastern town of Arsal in 2014.
The suspect, identified in the ISF statement as Syrian national A.Q., born in 1995, was reportedly arrested by the ISF’s Information Branch in Arsal.
Upon interrogation, the suspect reportedly admitted to joining the Nusra Front – now known as Jabhat Fatah al-Sham – after having arrived in Lebanon in 2014 and settling in the Arsal area.
The suspect reportedly underwent preliminary military training with the group and fought in their ranks.
A warrant had been circulated for the suspect’s arrest on the charge of belonging to a terrorist organization.
The ISF said A.Q.’s arrest came as part of a continuous effort to monitor and arrest members of terrorist organizations in Lebanon, “especially those who fought against the Lebanese Army in the outskirts of Arsal.”
Jabhat Fatah al-Sham and Daesh (ISIS) briefly overran Arsal in 2014. When the groups’ militants withdrew to the town’s outskirts, they took dozens of Army and police personnel with them as hostages.
Thirteen of these captives were soon released while the remainder continued to be held. Five were killed in captivity. Some of the remaining servicemen were released in 2015, with nine still held by Daesh at that time.
One of these servicemen allegedly joined the militant group, leaving just eight soldiers in captivity. The bodies of these men were found last year, after Hezbollah and the Lebanese Army launched separate, successful offensives to rout the militants from the area in July and August 2017.