The Lebanese Army on Saturday carried out a widespread military operation in the Bekaa with large parts of the area, especially the village of Brital, being subjected to immediate control by the governmentâs armed forces. âIt was the biggest such raid by the army since 1943,â security sources said. Military units started entering the heart of Brital and neighboring villages, where they arrested a gang accused of smuggling weapons to Syria and Iraq. The army used light and heavy vehicles, together with helicopters, in the raid. Several members of the armyâs intelligence units also took part in the raid and conducted an investigation into the âsource of the weaponry, which was being smuggled across the border.â
| Yeah... Wonder where it's coming from? |
At 4am on Saturday, two army units started advancing in the direction of the hills surrounding Brital, allegedly the long-term stronghold of outlaws involved in numerous car robberies and drug-smuggling operations. It then started raiding houses in Brital and neighboring towns, and a large number of wanted men surrendered to the army. It arrested an arms-smuggling ring, from which it seized more than 22 anti-tank rockets and about 40 rocket-propelled grenades, in addition to ammunition and more than 100,000 rounds for automatic guns. The army also seized some 40 heavy and light rifles, several landmines and large quantities of heroin and cocaine.
| Drug smugglers don't usually use anti-tank rockets and landmines, except in Burma... |
The army did not specify in a statement the number of people it had arrested in the crackdown on the Brital district, but a local security officer was quoted as saying that seven people were nabbed. The group allegedly operated between Lebanon and Arab countries, the army said, without specifying the countries. It added that the arrests took place with the cooperation of Syrian security services and army intelligence.
| It wouldn't have taken place without them, in fact... |
Lebanese gang leader Abbas Tleis, 55, was killed Friday in a shoot-out with an army patrol in the same district, the army said, adding that the victim had led a criminal career that ranged from drug trafficking and auto theft to dealing in counterfeit money and murder. His son Hassan, in his 30s, was seriously wounded in the clash and taken to hospital, while another son, Hamad, was detained in connection with an outstanding arrest warrant. It is not known whether the shoot-out and Saturdayâs arrests were related.
| I'd kinda guess they are, though... |
A Daily Star source within the raiding forces said that the town of Brital, where more than 30,000 people lived, provided shelter for more than 300 wanted men. But the 300 wanted men, along with their relatives, would add up to 2000 people and âwould have given the army a good run for its money had it been engaged in direct fighting with the outlaws,â the source said.
| I wonder if they might be practicing for Ein el-Hellhole... |
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