ISIL-Affiliated Terrorist Group Claims Beirut Bombing
Local Editor
A Saudi suicide bomber who blew himself up during a raid by Lebanese security forces was a member of the so-called 'Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant' terrorist group, according to a statement published on Friday that Lebanese security officials said they were taking seriously.
"Two lions of the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), who infiltrated the city of Beirut at the Duroy Hotel, engaged a group from the General Security service," the statement said.The group calling itself the state of Damascus-Qalamoun said via twitter that two ISIL members targeted General Security agents at the hotel in Raouche.
It warned the Lebanese army of more terrorist attacks, saying Wednesday's bombing was just the start.
Three members of the security forces were wounded when they stormed Beirut's Duroy Hotel on Wednesday and the Saudi suspect detonated his explosives, killing himself and wounding an accomplice, also a Saudi citizen, who survived the blast and is being questioned at hospital.
The General Security agency on Thursday circulated the picture of a Lebanese man, al-Monzer Khaldoun al-Hasan, accused of providing the Duroy Hotel bombers with explosives.Media reports have said they were plotting to target a busy restaurant in Beirut's southern suburbs.
The announcement came three days after a statement in the name of the al Qaeda-linked Abdullah Azzam Brigades terrorist group which - without directly claiming responsibility for two bombings on Friday and Monday - warned of further attacks against targets in Lebanon.
It was the third bomb blast in five days in Lebanon.
The Lebanese army said on Wednesday five members of a "terrorist cell" suspected of planning to kill senior security officers had been arrested in the north of the country, and a French national was detained last week on suspicion of planning an attack.
Source: Websites
| 27-06-2014 - 17:15 Last updated 27-06-2014 - 17:15 |
ISIS declares war on Lebanon
The Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) has decided to instigate a full-scale conflagration in Lebanon. All indications show that the al-Qaeda offshoot is resolved to bring back suicide bombings en masse to the country of the cedars.
After all, Lebanon is within the borders of ISIS’ coveted emirate, yet its most important significance may be the fact that it is the home of Hezbollah, “the biggest enemy fighting Sunnis in Syria” in the eyes of the jihadis. Hence, hitting Hezbollah there would increase ISIS’ popularity in jihadi circles in Syria and among other global jihadi groups.
Security sources have revealed to Al-Akhbar that the terrorist cells intercepted at the Napoleon and Duroy hotels in Beirut had been dispatched by ISIS as part of its strategy to overwhelm Lebanon with a formidable wave of suicide bombings. The security services base this reading on the previous modus operandi and strategy of the terrorist cells, and also the information relayed by U.S. and European sources, indicating that the suicide bombers had been dispatched by ISIS to Lebanon.
According to available information, the jihadi operatives who have been activated are mostly combatants who travelled from Syria to Lebanon via Turkey, or Lebanese, Palestinian, and Syrian nationals who had fought in Syria, before returning to Lebanon to form logistical networks assisting suicide bombers sent from abroad. What reinforces the view that ISIS is involved is the sheer amount of money that has been spent on the suicide bombers, including their travel, accommodation, and transportation costs, and the nature of the terrorist gear, since ISIS has access to huge human, material, and intelligence resources compared to other jihadi groups.
In the course of the ongoing investigations, the ISIS hypothesis has been further corroborated by the identity of the alleged terrorist fixer Al-Monzer Khaldoun al-Hassan, brother of two jihadis who died in Syria nearly a year ago. Hassan booked the hotel rooms, transported the suicide bombers, and provided them with the necessary equipment. Hassan reportedly has ties to fugitive Palestinian national Ahmed Taha, who is suspected of staging rocket attacks on Dahiyeh and involvement in bringing car bombs to Beirut’s southern suburb, bearing in mind that Taha is likely to be present in Syria where he has pledged allegiance to ISIS.
In the meantime, investigators are leaning strongly to separating the case of the suicide bombers caught in the hotels and the case of the perpetrators of the attacks in Dahr al-Baidar and Tayouneh. Furthermore, the vehicle used in the first attack had been brought to Beirut from the Bekaa, while the vehicle used in the second attack had been purchased in Beirut; surveillance cameras did not spot it moving outside the capital, meaning the car had not been rigged in the Bekaa Valley.
Security officials involved in the investigations believe it likely that the Abdullah Azzam Brigades were indeed behind the attacks in Tayouneh and Dahr al-Baidar. By contrast, the security officials say the would-be suicide bombers intercepted in two Beirut hotels are likely to be part of a plot hatched outside Lebanon, which confirms that ISIS is behind them.
The same sources declined to talk about current surveillance operations, but pointed out that ISIS intends to stage major attacks, with a view to settle the question of who should lead jihadi groups in its favor.
On Thursday, social media sites were abuzz with an unverified message declaring ISIS was behind the suicide bombers caught in the hotels. Meanwhile, al-Nusra Front military commander Abu Hammam al-Suri has called on all “mujahidin” to prepare themselves to take the fight to “Shia cities in Lebanon” and for a showdown with Hezbollah.
Follow Radwan Mortada on Twitter: @radwanmortada
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