Security sources revealed that the terrorist Ahmad Salim Mikati,who was arrested by the Lebanese Army on Thursday used to coordinate with one of the North’s MPs and plotted for launching a major attack against the Lebanese army.According to a security source, “Ahmad Salim Mikati confessed he belongs to ISIS and that he regularly coordinated with his son Omar and nephew Bilal stationed in the outskirts of Arsal,”Security sources added that the attack’s plot was devised so that it mimics the Douniyeh events in 2000 in order to distract the army and the security services away from Arsal, where the terrorist groups are trying to break the siege imposed on their dens on the bordering barrens by the Lebanese and the Syrian militaries by operating their dormant cells in Lebanon.In a related context, DNA tests have confirmed that the scorched body at the raided Douniyeh apartment is that of defected soldier Abdul Qader al-Akkoumi, the army announced on Friday.Army intelligence agents on Thursday raided an apartment in the town of Asoun in the northern district of Douniyeh, which was inhabited by a “group of terrorists,” killing three gunmen and apprehending a fugitive.It said Bilal Mikati was implicated in the beheading of 1st Sgt. Ali Sayyed.Sayyed was among the dozens of soldiers and policemen that ISIS and the Nusra Front took hostage when it briefly overran the border town of Arsal in August. The militant groups withdrew after several day of fierce fighting with the Lebanese Army but are still holding 27 servicemen hostage after releasing seven and executing three.Security source also said that Mikati confessed his group that was involved in a plot to persuade Lebanese soldiers in the Dinnieh region to defect from the Army and join ISIS. The group, according to the source, also planned to kidnap more soldiers and policemen, “to add extra pressure on the Lebanese government and raise the demand ceiling, be it in terms of a swap deal or to ease the security siege on the armed militants by the Lebanese Army on the outskirts of Arsal.”Report published Friday in As-Safir claiming Mikati had links to a lawmaker was “exaggerated.”The As-Safir report said Mikati was coordinating efforts with an MP from north Lebanon, without naming the lawmaker but saying he was known for his extremist views and for his “sacred dreams,” in an apparent reference to Akkar MP Khaled Daher. Earlier this year, Daher said that when his mother was pregnant with him, the Prophet Mohammad came to his father in his dream to bring the good news that his wife was pregnant. His remarks drew an avalanche of ridicule in the media.Quoting a security source, As-Safir said preliminary investigation of Mikati showed he had been in “constant contact” with the unnamed lawmaker via the WhatsApp messenger service. Mikati would also send the lawmaker video grabs showing defected Lebanese soldiers. The source said the military would take the necessary legal measures against the MP, including a request to lift his parliamentary immunity so that he could be interrogated.Friday morning, Future MP Ahmad Fatfat said the Future Movement placed national security above any other consideration and would not oppose lifting the immunity of north Lebanon lawmakers for security reasons.The security of the country is above any political, legislative or media consideration, and the Future bloc will take seriously any request to lift the immunity of any lawmaker from the north, Fatfat told a local radio station Friday.As-Safir said Thursday’s raid resulted from analysis of a video. which was broadcast on social networking websites showing Army defector Abdul Kader Akoumi that revealed the IP address that posted the video originated from the outskirts of Dinnieh.Investigation also showed that the seven member terror cell had rented the apartment two weeks prior to the Army operation. The report said a Lebanese Army “strike force” stormed the apartment at 5 a.m., engaging the gunmen in a gunfight, leaving two dead. One of them was identified as Adel al-Itri from Minyeh, north Lebanon. The second fatality was charred beyond recognition, the report said, while suggesting it likely belonged to Akoumi, the Army deserter.A third gunman was seriously wounded in the 30-minute clash and died while being transported in a military vehicle to Beirut.The Army has been carrying out sweeping raids across Tripoli and the northern Akkar region since the August battle with ISIS and the Nusra Front.On Friday afternoon, the Army raided the Tripoli neighborhood of Mankoubeen, arresting Rashid Dennawi and Alaa Salha, who is also known as Abu Rajab, after an exchange of fire, a security source said. There were no casualties in the gunfight.
Posted on: Sun, 26 Oct 2014 06:59:46 +0000