Lebanese military foil ISIS attempt to establish emirate in Tripoli: sources
Lebanon’s military have halted an attempt by extremist groups to
establish an Islamic emirate centered around the city of Tripoli after
more than four days of fighting, an official source said on Monday.
A Lebanese military official, speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat on
the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to brief the
media, said that Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) fighters had
been seeking to take over the port city and declare it part of the
“caliphate” it established on Iraqi and Syrian territory earlier this
year, when it declared its leader Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi the leader of the
world’s Muslims.
Lebanese military and security forces successfully drove the Islamist
fighters out of Tripoli, Lebanon’s second largest city, after four days
of fighting that left at least 42 people dead and hundreds more
injured. Lebanese officials and politicians hailed the operation a
success as efforts continue to pursue and capture the fleeing militants,
including Sheikh Khaled Hablas of the city’s Haroun Mosque and fighters
affiliated to his group.
Sources informed Asharq Al-Awsat that ISIS gunmen were
fighting alongside Al-Nusra Front fighters and other Sunni militants
against the Lebanese authorities, in what analysts have described as a
dangerous development. ISIS and Al-Nusra Front have clashed repeatedly
in Syria; it is as yet unclear whether this was a temporary alliance
against the Lebanese army or if the ISIS-Al-Nusra Front cooperation
represents a broader movement on the ground and could affect the
fighting in Iraq and Syria.
The Lebanese military source confirmed that Al-Nusra Front leader
Imad Ahmed Juma had sworn allegiance to Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi in August.
The source added that Juma and his fighters participated in the attempt
to take control of Tripoli, fighting alongside ISIS militants.
Tripoli residents, speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat after the
liberation of the city, said that they believed the militant’s main
objective had been to establish a land bridge from Syria’s Qalamoun
mountains to the Lebanese coast.
Captured fighters reportedly informed Lebanese authorities that the
establishment of an Islamic emirate in Tripoli had been the first phase
of a broader plan to establish control of other cities along the
Lebanese western seaboard. ISIS and its affiliates would also have
sought to transfer and receive fighters and arms via these ports.
Captured Al-Nusra Front commander Ahmed Mikati confirmed the ISIS plans, the Lebanese military official told Asharq Al-Awsat.
Mikati had also implicated a number of others in the plot to establish
an emirate, including well-known Lebanese Salafist Sheikhs Kamal
Al-Bustani and Khaled Hoblos, among others.
Mikati said that ISIS had been seeking to carry out the “Mosul
scenario” in Tripoli and the surrounding area. ISIS fighters took over
the northern city Iraqi city of Mosul in June and quickly pushed on to
secure the surrounding villages and territory after locking down the
city, entrenching their grip on the region.
The Al-Nusra Front commander said that the militants were planning to
quickly occupy Tripoli’s surrounding villages before moving on to
secure other areas in Lebanon. “The first phase of the plan was to
completely takeover Tripoli with the objective of securing a land bridge
connection between Qalamoun in Syria with the Lebanese coast,” Mikati
said.
Tripoli residents who fled the fighting have begun returning to the
city with even more army reinforcements expected to be dispatched to the
region within the next few days, local media reported. Although many
ISIS-Al-Nusra Front fighters were killed or captured in the fighting,
many others remain on the run with Lebanese security and military
patrols now seeking to capture them and secure the situation on the
ground.
Source: aawsat.net
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