Army Arrests Prominent IS Fugitive in Arsal
The Lebanese army clashed overnight with Islamic State jihadists near a Syrian refugee encampment in Wadi al-Araneb in Arsal and arrested an IS commander together with 10 other militants, the state-run National News Agency reported Friday.
The army said special forces and other troops carried out the dawn attack on an IS headquarters in the mountainous eastern area of Arsal.
The army managed to arrest senior IS militant, Ahmed Youssef Ammoun, suspected for his involvement in providing logistic cover for the suicide attackers who were behind the al-Qaa bombings in June.
Ammoun, also known as al-Sheikh, was seriously wounded in the operation, and had been transferred aboard a military helicopter to a hospital in Beirut for emergency treatment.
The army confiscated massive amounts of weapons and explosive belts.
The army said Ammoun was involved in preparing car bombs used in attacks in various parts of Lebanon, including the southern suburbs of Beirut.
LBCI later said that some militants were spotted fleeing after the army's operation. They headed towards the outskirts of Arsal.
Successive suicide attacks rocked the border town of al-Qaa in June, killing and wounding several.
Source: Naharnet
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