BEIRUT, Lebanon — Gunmen who crossed into northeastern Lebanon from Syria attacked several army checkpoints in a border town on Saturday in what appeared to be an effort to win the release of a Syrian rebel who had been detained by Lebanese troops. Initial reports from the town, Arsal, described a chaotic situation involving multiple attacks on checkpoints, security posts and homes and also the seizure of some members of the security forces by the gunmen, identified as rebel fighters from across the border in Syria. The town’s mayor, Ali al-Hujeiri, reached by phone, said that two civilians had been killed while trying to help repel attacks by the gunmen on security checkpoints, adding that a total of nine checkpoints had been hit. Lebanon’s National News Agency reported that two soldiers and two civilians had been killed. Continue reading the main story Related Coverage Militants Said to Kill Scores at a Syrian Base JULY 25, 2014 Lebanese security forces arresting one (in white) of 17 men detained in Beirut on Friday on suspicion of plotting an assassination. Lebanon Detains 17 Said to Be Islamist MilitantsJUNE 20, 2014 Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said that the goal was to “enable Iraq” to defend itself. U.S. and Iraqis Try to Fragment Extremist GroupJULY 12, 2014 graphic Graphic: In Iraq Crisis, a Tangle of Alliances and EnmitiesJUNE 13, 2014 graphic Graphic: The Iraq-ISIS Conflict in Maps, Photos and VideoJUNE 12, 2014 The Lebanese Army said in a statement that the gunmen had also attacked homes in Arsal and captured an unspecified number of soldiers who were on leave, possibly for use in a detainee swap. A security official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the press, said two soldiers had been seized by rebels but then freed by fellow soldiers. Later in the day, the army confirmed that the soldiers had been freed. But the town’s deputy mayor, Ahmad Fliti, said that the gunmen had also seized 17 members of the security forces at a police station and wanted to exchange them for the Syrian rebel, Imad Ahmad Jomaa, who had been detained a day earlier by Lebanese forces. In its statement, the Lebanese Army warned of the seriousness of the episode in Arsal, which is about 55 miles northeast of Beirut and is considered to be largely supportive of the rebellion against Syria’s government and a place where many Syrian refugees and rebel fighters cross into Lebanon. “What happened today is the most dangerous incident Lebanon and the Lebanese have ever faced because it’s made clear that there is someone planning and preparing to attack Lebanon as well as planning to sabotage the Lebanese Army and the residents of Arsal,” the army statement said. “The army will not allow anyone to move the battle in Syria into Lebanon,” it said. The violence in Arsal erupted after the army had detained Mr. Jomaa, who was accused of being a commander of a rebel brigade that had joined the Nusra Front, an affiliate of Al Qaeda active in the conflict against President Bashar al-Assad in Syria. Mr. Jomaa was detained hours before the attack in Arsal at a checkpoint, the army said. He had been wounded in a clash with Syrian troops and was seeking medical treatment at a clinic in Arsal. He admitted that he belonged to the Nusra Front, the army said after his arrest. But in a video posted on YouTube late last month, Mr. Jomaa and members of his brigade can be seen pledging their allegiance to a more extreme group, the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq, or ISIS. The rebels who attacked Arsal, the army said, were demanding the release of “one of the most dangerous detainees,” presumably a reference to Mr. Jomaa. Continue reading the main story Continue reading the main story Reached by phone in Arsal, Abu Osama, a member of Mr. Jomaa’s brigade, said that the sole purpose of Saturday’s attacks was to secure the release of Mr. Jomaa and that they were carried out as a combined operation involving fighters from the Free Syrian Army, the Nusra Front and ISIS. Abu Osama’s remarks could not be immediately verified, and such cooperation between the F.S.A., the Nusra Front and ISIS would be unusual; the groups have clashed in bouts of rebel infighting in Syria. But at least at a local level, Mr. Jomaa and his fighters have publicly embraced ISIS recently. Abu Osama said that the members of the Lebanese security forces seized Saturday by his fighters were unharmed but would be held until Mr. Jomaa’s release. A Syrian refugee in Arsal said in a telephone interview on Saturday that he could hear gunfire and that all around the town “the refugees are running from place to place trying to find a shelter.” The refugee, who feared for his safety and asked to be identified only as Fares, said that the refugees’ tents provided no protection so many were trying to find houses or other buildings were they could hide. The army said that it “will not stay silent” while foreign rebels engaged in terrorism on Lebanese soil and pledged to take action to prevent similar attacks. Mr. Hujeiri, Arsal’s mayor, said Saturday evening that the situation in the town remained tense and was “a real battle.”
Posted on: Sun, 03 Aug 2014 18:49:24 +0000
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