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Conflict Incident Report
Lebanon foils Daesh plot targeting downtown Beirut
BEIRUT: Lebanon’s General Security has arrested a Daesh (ISIS)-linked Solidere employee suspected of plotting to carry out an attack in downtown Beirut, a judicial source told The Daily Star on Tuesday.
Daesh had recruited the suspect, whose job was to monitor surveillance cameras in the downtown area of the capital, a judicial source said.
A suspected Palestinian accomplice was arrested, while three others remain at large.
The two suspects in custody were referred to Military Investigative Judge Riad Abu Ghaida, who issued arrest warrants against them.
General Security refused to confirm or deny the incident when contacted by The Daily Star. However, the judicial source confirmed that the Lebanese national is from the al-Safadi family.
The information comes in light of a report published in Al-Akhbar newspaper that said the alleged Solidere employee was a Lebanese from the southern city of Sidon.
Daesh allegedly tasked the recruit with collecting information on the convoys of prominent political figures, including Prime Minister Saad Hariri, businesses and touristic sites in the area.
Judicial sources told the daily that General Security had arrested the suspect on Jan. 10.
The suspect allegedly confessed that he had been recruited by a Palestinian in the South Lebanon Palestinian refugee camp of Ain al-Hilweh to collect information on possible targets in downtown Beirut.
The Palestinian was also arrested and reportedly admitted to working at the behest of a Daesh leader residing in Ain al-Hilweh to recruit Lebanese youth to join the ranks of the extremist group.
He told investigators that the recruited youth were smuggled into the ISIS-held city of Raqqa in Syria.
The suspect added that the Solidere employee was chosen due to the nature of his job, which allows him to oversee "sensitive information."
Al-Akhbar said that the directorate ended its investigation more than 10 days ago and is seeking to maintain an air of secrecy.
It added, however, that when the case reached the judiciary, part of the information was exposed.
The report goes on to say that General Security chief Abbas Ibrahim briefed PM Hariri on the case.
Interior Minister Nouhad Machnouk confirmed the report to the daily, saying that "General Security conducted a pre-emptive strike, thwarting a terror act," noting that the detainees were referred to the Military Tribunal more than 10 days ago.
Lebanese security forces have been cracking down on militants as part of pre-emptive operations against extremist sleeper-cells.