Poland Arrests Lebanese Man Suspected of Planning 'Terrorist Attacks' in Europe

Poland arrests a Lebanese man suspected of plotting terrorist attacks in Europe. (AFP)
Poland arrests a Lebanese man suspected of plotting terrorist attacks in Europe. (AFP)
TT

Poland Arrests Lebanese Man Suspected of Planning 'Terrorist Attacks' in Europe

Poland arrests a Lebanese man suspected of plotting terrorist attacks in Europe. (AFP)
Poland arrests a Lebanese man suspected of plotting terrorist attacks in Europe. (AFP)

A Lebanese man was arrested in Poland on Monday on suspicion of planning to carry out terrorist attacks in Western Europe and of having ties with ISIS, Poland's special services said.

Stanislaw Zaryn, spokesman for Poland's special services said the man, whose identity was not made public, was detained on April 16 after being deemed "a real threat to Polish internal security and to our country's citizens.”

The suspect "was planning to set up a network in Poland and elsewhere in the EU that would carry out terror attacks in Western European countries," Zaryn said in a statement published by Agence France Press.

He had "family ties to terrorists belonging to ISIS who died in battle against the coalition forces in Syria and Iraq", the statement added.

The man had apparently been in frequent touch via the internet with ISIS and other individuals linked to the group in EU member countries while he was staying in Poland.

The individual, who is now in a detention center for foreigners in eastern Poland, is also alleged to have provided financial support to ISIS members in Syria.

The Polish statement did not identify the name of the man.



Syria's Sharaa, Shibani Expected at Brussels Donor Summit

A man holds the Syrian opposition flag as they celebrate after Syria's army command notified officers on Sunday that President Bashar al-Assad's 24-year authoritarian rule has ended - Aleppo, Syria - AFP
A man holds the Syrian opposition flag as they celebrate after Syria's army command notified officers on Sunday that President Bashar al-Assad's 24-year authoritarian rule has ended - Aleppo, Syria - AFP
TT

Syria's Sharaa, Shibani Expected at Brussels Donor Summit

A man holds the Syrian opposition flag as they celebrate after Syria's army command notified officers on Sunday that President Bashar al-Assad's 24-year authoritarian rule has ended - Aleppo, Syria - AFP
A man holds the Syrian opposition flag as they celebrate after Syria's army command notified officers on Sunday that President Bashar al-Assad's 24-year authoritarian rule has ended - Aleppo, Syria - AFP

Syria's interim president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, is expected to attend an international donor summit for his country in Brussels on March 17, a Syrian source and two diplomats familiar with the trip said.
It will be his first visit to Europe since he was declared interim president following the ouster of Bashar al-Assad in December.

Also, a European official told Reuters on Wednesday that Syria's foreign minister Asaad al-Shibani is also set to attend the donor summit.

The yearly conference, hosted by the European Union, aims to "mobilize international support for an inclusive, peaceful transition" and will be the first time it is held following the ouster of Bashar al-Assad from power in December.

In the past, representatives of Syrian civil society were invited to take part in the summit - but the Syrian state was not.