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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| Lebanese al-Qaeda were planning suicide attacks |
| 2006-02-02 |
| Members of an al-Qaeda cell arrested recently in Lebanon had recruited Lebanese and Palestinian nationals in the country to carry out suicide attacks in Iraq, As Safir reported Tuesday. Several of the 13 alleged members confessed that they were able to convince Lebanese and Palestinians living in northern Lebanon, Bekaa and refugee camps to join groups planning to conduct suicide operations in Iraq, security sources were quoted as saying in the Lebanese daily. The sources said the recruits would have been prepared for the mission at training camps in neighboring countries. The 13 people arrested, who were said to be affiliated with Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, were arrested on different occasions starting from December 30 in Lebanon. They had crossed the border into Lebanon after spending years in Syria. The authorities found an arms cache belonging to the cell, including explosives, hand-grenades, Kalashnikovs and Light Anti-tank Weapon (LAW) rockets, according to the newspaper. Some of the detainees said they were planning to stage attacks in Lebanon that were similar to military operations conducted in Iraq. But it was not clear whether these attacks would include suicide bombings and what the targets were. Several detainees gave similar comments to their interrogators, such as complaining about why only Hizbullah had the right to carry weapons in Lebanon, the security sources told the newspaper. Earlier this month, Beirut's assistant military court prosecutor, Ahmed Oweidat, charged the 13 suspects with "establishing a gang to carry out terrorist acts, forging official and private documents and possessing unlicensed arms." The suspects include three Lebanese, seven Syrians, a Saudi, a Jordanian and a Palestinian, court officials said. The arrests gained extra significance in light of Zarqawi's claim of responsibility for a rocket attack launched against Israel from south Lebanon in December. |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |