General Security chief Major General Abbas Ibrahim said on Sunday that Lebanon continued to face terror threats despite the victory achieved at the eastern border with Syria.
He predicted the next phase to witness “a new kind of confrontation” against terrorism, which he said the Lebanese security forces would be watching closely.
In an interview with Asharq Al-Awsat, Abbas said that terrorism in its geographical meaning has already been moved away from Lebanon after the latest ISIS and al-Nusra Front defeats.
However, he said that such an achievement does not mean the two groups were no longer a threat to the country.
“One of the most advanced kinds of terrorist operations is currently embodied by the lone wolves that use vehicles to kill people in streets around the world,” the General Security chief said.
He also warned from the threat of suicide bombers and those who infiltrate the society.
Ibrahim was the government’s chief negotiator in trying to win the return of Lebanon’s captured soldiers who were abducted by the terrorists in 2014 after later revealing that the remains of the majority of them have been recovered.
Commenting on the timing of the latest clashes that erupted at the Ain el-Hilweh Palestinian refugee camp in the southern city of Sidon, and which came amid a battle launched by the Lebanese army in Jurud Asral, Abbas said there was no coincidence.
“When the Lebanese army launched its battle, terrorists tried to limit the pressure on their comrades. However, some wise Palestinian forces at the camp were alerted by the situation and complied with the messages we sent them about the rejection to turn the camp, now or later, to a hotbed of threat that would hurt the Palestinians and the Lebanese,” the General Security chief said.
