Lebanon Arrests 450 Takfiri Militants


Lebanon Arrests 450 Takfiri Militants

TEHRAN (Tasnim) - Lebanon arrested about 450 suspected Takfiri terrorists near its border with Syria over the past two weeks.

Lebanese security sources made the announcement on Thursday, amid the army’s increasing efforts to stop the militants from using the town of Arsal as a base.

The army also noted on Thursday that it had searched a camp close to the border and arrested four people believed to be linked to al-Qaeda-affiliated al-Nusra Front, which is fighting the Syrian government.

Last month, Arsal saw the deadliest spillover of the conflict in Syria; and during clashes that left dozens dead, Takfiri terrorists captured a group of Lebanese soldiers. They have killed at least three of them so far and are believed to be holding over a dozen others.

The army has arrested hundreds of people in the area this month, accusing them of being members of Takfiri militant groups.

Violence erupted in eastern Lebanon on August 2 after soldiers arrested a Syrian man who the army said confessed to belonging to the ISIL terror group. Angered by the arrest, the Takfiri militants opened fire on army checkpoints and stormed a police station in a border area.

Following truce negotiations with the ISIL militants, they agreed to retreat from the town and freed some prisoners.

The Takfiri militants reportedly infiltrated into Lebanon from Syria’s mountainous al-Qalamoun region.

Syria has been gripped by deadly violence since 2011, Press TV reported.

The Western powers and their regional allies - especially Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Turkey - are reportedly supporting the militants operating inside Syria.

 

 

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