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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| Syria now sending jihadis to Lebanon |
| 2007-05-29 |
| Heavily armed foreign jihadists have been entering Lebanon from Syria from around the time Western authorities noticed a drop in the infiltration of foreign fighters from Syria to Iraq, Lebanese officials say. U.N. officials running the Nahr el-Bared camp told The Washington Times that a large band of foreigners carrying mortars, rockets, explosive belts and other heavy weapons entered the camp in a group several months ago. Maj. Gen. Ashraf Rifi, commander of Lebanon's Internal Security Forces, said about half of the militants who have been battling Lebanese forces in the Nahr el-Bared refugee camp outside Tripoli for nine days had fought previously in Iraq. Gen. Rifi said the foreigners began arriving in Lebanon during the war between Hezbollah and Israel last summer, when between 60 and 70 jihadists were integrated into Fatah al-Intifada, a group set up by Syrian intelligence in the 1980s. The original group had about 30 to 40 Lebanese members and 20 Palestinians in the leadership positions, Gen. Rifi said. The rest were made up of fighters from Jordan, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Yemen, Algeria and even from as far as Bangladesh. In November last year, a Palestinian with Jordanian citizenship named Shaker Youssef al-Absi broke with Fatah al-Intifada and set up a new group, Fatah Islam, based in the Nahr el-Bared camp. Gen. Rifi said Fatah Islam has about 250 fighters, of which about 50 have been killed so far. Palestinian leaders tried yesterday to negotiate an end to the standoff, in which Lebanese army forces are ringed around the camp, but Prime Minister Fuad Siniora insisted that the militants surrender and face justice. Gen. Rifi said there are several more cells of foreign jihadists scattered around Lebanon. Some are in the Palestinian camps, some are in Tripoli and some are in Beirut. Another government official said some were based in the Bekaa Valley. "Some [Gulf] Arabs, originally from al Qaeda, joined the group," Gen. Rifi said. "But they are false al Qaeda. Our al Qaeda is made in Syria." Money for the fighters comes from local criminal activities, such as bank robberies -- one of which sparked the current standoff -- and support from Gulf countries and "local politicians," said a senior regional military source. "They're part of the global jihad," he said. |
| Posted by:Sperese Squank4268 |
| #2 A certain non-practicing dentist needs to have some teeth pulled. |
| Posted by: 3dc 2007-05-29 21:58 |
| #1 My femto-violin, Jeeves! |
| Posted by: gromgoru 2007-05-29 21:41 |