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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| Al-Qaeda denies ties to Beirut plotters |
| 2004-09-26 |
| Al-Qaida has denied any link to Muslim extremists arrested in Lebanon for planning to bomb foreign embassies, apart from a shared ideology. The Beirut daily al-Balad Friday published a statement by al-Qaida warning the Lebanese authorities that harassing "the young believers and strugglers in Lebanon will not go unpunished." "The reports about the arrest of a group that belongs to us ideologically and seeks to bomb foreign interests in Lebanon show clearly that those who work in the field of Daawa and jihad (Islamic teaching and holy war) are the ones who are targeted," the statement said. The statement charged that rounding up Islamists in Lebanon was aimed at pleasing the United States and the Europeans who seek hegemony over the Middle East region. "For considerations of our own we have not taken Lebanon as a scene for our operations and any harassment of the young struggling believers in that country will be punished," the statement added. The paper said an anonymous caller that contacted its offices asserted that the Islamists rounded up by the Lebanese authorities "did not belong to al-Qaida but advocated its ideology." |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |
| #1 The statement charged that rounding up Islamists in Lebanon was aimed at pleasing the United States and the Europeans who seek hegemony over the Middle East region. Bzzt wrong. The arrests were made to keep several places in Lebanon from being the targets of cruise missles. With "arrests" like this and movement of (a small number) of Sryian troops some one must have got a very specific message laced with undeniable facts. Those someones attention was got. Lebanon doesn't want to look like Iraq. Sryia doesn't either. It usually feels free to ignore these groups. |
| Posted by: Sock Puppet of Doom 2004-09-26 2:25:15 AM |