Lebanese Army Arrests Eight People Linked to ISIS

Army soldiers are deployed in Beirut, Lebanon October 14, 2021 (Reuters)
Army soldiers are deployed in Beirut, Lebanon October 14, 2021 (Reuters)
TT

Lebanese Army Arrests Eight People Linked to ISIS

Army soldiers are deployed in Beirut, Lebanon October 14, 2021 (Reuters)
Army soldiers are deployed in Beirut, Lebanon October 14, 2021 (Reuters)

The Lebanese Army on Friday said it had arrested eight individuals who confessed to being linked to the ISIS extremist group and to committing acts of theft to finance their “terrorist activities.”
A statement from the Lebanese Army said that following a series of security incidents that occurred in the regions of Jabal el-Baddawi and Wadi el-Nahleh in North Lebanon, the Army Intelligence Directorate conducted a security sweep and arrested eight citizens who admitted during investigation to being linked to ISIS.
“The suspects admitted to committing acts of theft to finance the ISIS terrorist projects and to firing at shops and at the vehicle of an officer of the Internal Security Forces,” the statement said.
They also confessed to “taking a photo of a Lebanese Army post that they intended to attack,” it added.
The Army said it seized weapons and equipment used by the suspects in their operations. The confiscated items were handed over to the competent authorities, and a judicial investigation has been opened, according to the World Press Agency.

 



Türkiye’s Erdogan Calls for Islamic Alliance against Israel

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan attends a press conference with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi (not pictured), Ankara, Türkiye, 04 September 2024. (EPA)
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan attends a press conference with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi (not pictured), Ankara, Türkiye, 04 September 2024. (EPA)
TT

Türkiye’s Erdogan Calls for Islamic Alliance against Israel

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan attends a press conference with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi (not pictured), Ankara, Türkiye, 04 September 2024. (EPA)
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan attends a press conference with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi (not pictured), Ankara, Türkiye, 04 September 2024. (EPA)

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday Islamic countries should form an alliance against what he called "the growing threat of expansionism" from Israel.

He made the comment after describing what Palestinian and Turkish officials said was the killing by Israeli troops of a Turkish-American woman taking part in a protest on Friday against settlement expansion in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

"The only step that will stop Israeli arrogance, Israeli banditry, and Israeli state terrorism is the alliance of Islamic countries," Erdogan said at an Islamic schools' association event near Istanbul.

He said recent steps that Türkiye has taken to improve ties with Egypt and Syria are aimed at "forming a line of solidarity against the growing threat of expansionism," which he said also threatened Lebanon and Syria.

Erdogan hosted Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in Ankara this week and they discussed the Gaza war and ways to further repair their long-frozen ties during what was the first such presidential visit in 12 years.

Ties between them started thawing in 2020 when Türkiye began diplomatic efforts to ease tensions with estranged regional countries.

Erdogan said in July that Türkiye would extend an invitation to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad "any time" for possible talks to restore relations between the two neighbors, who severed ties in 2011 after the outbreak of the Syrian civil war.

Israel did not immediately comment on Erdogan's remarks on Saturday.

Israel's military said after Friday's incident that it was looking into reports that a female foreign national "was killed as a result of shots fired in the area. The details of the incident and the circumstances in which she was hit are under review.

There was no immediate comment on Friday's incident from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office.