Gunman kills 4 in attack on Tripoli security patrol

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Lebanon's Interior Minister Raya Al-Hassan visits the scene where a militant attacked a security forces patrol on Monday night, in Lebanon's northern city of Tripoli. (Reuters)
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A Lebanese Army investigator takes photos outside a building where clashes erupted between Lebanese troops and a a former member of the Islamic State group, who had engaged in an hours-long shootout with the security forces, in Tripoli, Lebanon. (AP)
Updated 04 June 2019
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Gunman kills 4 in attack on Tripoli security patrol

  • Tripoli has prevailed because of coordination between the security and military forces
  • The US Embassy in Lebanon said that it “stands by the legitimate security institutions in their war on terror

BEIRUT: A lone gunman who killed an army officer and three Lebanese security personnel in Tripoli had been released from prison on terror charges in mid-2017, Interior Minister Raya Al-Hassan said.

The “lone wolf” attacker, Abdul Rahman Mabsout, struck shortly before midnight on Monday, killing a Lebanese army officer and three Internal Security Forces (ISF) personnel.

Mabsout was known to security and judicial services in Lebanon. He had fought with the Daesh terror group in Syria and was arrested in Lebanon in early 2016 where he was imprisoned for 18 months before being released in mid-2017.

“Lone wolves are a new type of terrorism and security services are doing their best to prevent such attacks,” said Al-Hassan, who went to Tripoli after the incident.

According to Lebanon’s army command, the militant was riding a motorcycle when he opened fire on a Bank of Lebanon branch and an adjacent ISF post, killing one soldier and wounding several others.

He then moved to another area and threw a bomb at an ISF patrol before shooting and killing two security personnel and fleeing.

Security forces chased and exchanged gunshots with the terrorist, who barricaded himself in an apartment after forcing a woman occupant to flee. 

The man is believed to have killed himself by detonating an explosive belt when security forces raided the property, though earlier reports said he was killed by a grenade blast as security forces stormed the building.

“Tripoli has prevailed because of coordination between the security and military forces, and thanks to the Lebanese,” Al-Hassan told a press conference. 

The four men who died in the attacks were Lt. Hassan Farahat, 29, Pvt. Ibrahim Saleh, 21, Sgt. Johnny Khalil, 26, and Cpl. Yousef Faraj, 36.

Defense Minister Elias Bou Saab said the attack was likely to be part of a wider terrorist plot.

“However, there are still unanswered questions about the attacks,” he said.

Bou Saab linked the incident to benefit cuts imposed on retired soldiers in the 2019 budget. “The army is sacrificing its blood for the homeland and we hope everyone appreciates the value of these sacrifices,” he said.

MP Hikmat Deeb, from the Free Patriotic Movement bloc, said on Twitter that terrorism should not be tolerated, stressing that “amnesty for the killers of security personnel facilitates terrorism.”

“Lone wolves are a new type of terrorism and security services are doing their best to prevent such attacks.”

Raya Al-Hassan, Interior minister

In an interview with Arab News, former Lebanese MP Mustapha Allouch said: “I am surprised that this terrorist could be released from prison. He fought in the ranks of Daesh in Syria, but this incident should not be linked to Islamic detainees because some of them are oppressed.”

He said: “Someone may have encouraged Mabsout to carry out the attacks. Poverty and resentment may have been his motives. Or he may have found that the other world was better than his current life, so he did what he did. We do not know. We have to wait for investigations.”

Allouch described Tripoli as “the weakest link to carry out this attack. I do not think what happened is an accident.” 

Tripoli MP Mohammed Kabbara said the incident involved the “direct targeting of Tripoli.”

“Conspiracies want to drain it, distort its image and weaken it. What happened has serious implications, because the perpetrators are people who were deceived by one or more parties in the context of using Tripoli as a mailbox to send bloody messages.”

The US Embassy in Lebanon said that it “stands by the legitimate security institutions in their war on terror.”

More than 1,200 prisoners, including 700 Lebanese, are being held in Roumieh prison on terror-related charges. About 500 detainees have been accused of murder or attempted murder.

For years, families of detainees have been pressuring the Lebanese government to issue a general amnesty or speed up prisoners’ trials and ensure proper humanitarian conditions in the prison.

President Michel Aoun hailed “the lives of the martyrs of the army and ISF” after the Tripoli attack.

“Any tampering with security will receive a quick and decisive response,” he said. “What happened in Tripoli will not affect stability in the country.”

Prime Minister Saad Al-Hariri, who is in Saudi Arabia, called Al-Hassan, Army Commander Gen. Joseph Aoun and Director General of the ISF Maj. Gen. Imad Othman following terrorist attack.

According to his press office, Al-Hariri stressed that “all measures that protect the security of Tripoli and its people must be taken and the remnants of terrorism must be uprooted.”


Mikati warns Israeli military action in Lebanon a rejection of political solution

Updated 8 sec ago
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Mikati warns Israeli military action in Lebanon a rejection of political solution

  • Borrell in Beirut: Pressure must be exerted on Israel, Hezbollah to accept US proposal
  • Israel steps up bombardment of capital’s southern suburbs

BEIRUT: An Israeli strike on a Lebanese army center on Sunday killed a soldier and wounded 18 others, the Lebanese military said, with the caretaker prime minister, Najib Mikati, calling the attack “a direct bloody message rejecting all efforts to reach a ceasefire.”

The attack came as top EU diplomat Josep Borrell called for an immediate ceasefire in the Israel-Hezbollah war while on a visit to Lebanon.

According to the Lebanese Army Command, the first adjutant, Diab Mohammed Jaafar, was killed when Israel targeted Al-Amariyeh checkpoint on the road between Tyre and the town of Naqoura.

In a statement, Mikati said: “Israel’s messages rejecting a solution are ongoing, and just as it turned against the US-French call for a ceasefire in September, here it is once again responding with Lebanese blood, blatantly rejecting the solution that is being discussed.”

He called on “the countries of the world and the relevant international institutions to assume their responsibilities on the issue.”

Mikati’s condemnation came amid growing concerns that the Israeli military is trying to solidify its westward incursion in the coastal town of Al-Bayada, located between Tyre and Naqoura, while facing strong resistance from the eastern side of the border area in its positions in Khiyam.

Israeli forces are trying to encircle the South Litani area from both sides.

Hezbollah said it “targeted a gathering of the enemy army s forces east of the city of Khiyam with a salvo of rockets,” and “a gathering of Israeli forces at the Metula site (Israel’s outlet toward Khiyam) was targeted with a volley of rockets followed by an aerial attack with a squadron of assault drones … hitting its targets accurately.”

The Israeli military said Hezbollah launched 160 projectiles toward Israel on Sunday.

Sirens sounded across northern and central Israel, reaching Tel Aviv at successive intervals, forcing thousands of Israelis to head toward shelters.

Footage from central Israel showed extensive material damage and fires.

The Israeli military issued further warnings to residents of Beirut’s southern suburbs to evacuate, targeting Bourj Al-Barajneh and Hadath.

Former Israeli minister Benny Gantz claimed that the Lebanese government “is leaving Hezbollah unchecked,” adding: “It is time to act against its assets forcefully.”

These developments came during a round of discussions conducted by Borrell, high representative of the EU for foreign affairs and security policy, in Beirut with Mikati and Speaker Nabih Berry.

In a statement, Borrell stressed the need for exerting pressure on Israel and Hezbollah to accept the US proposal for a ceasefire.

Borrell emphasized that “the situation in the Middle East, particularly here in Beirut, presents a significant challenge to the international community. The international community cannot remain inactive in the face of these events. The absence of peace in the Middle East has reached an intolerable level, and people are dying under bombardment.”

He added that two months on from his last visit to Beirut, he now views Lebanon as on the verge of collapse due to the conflict, which has led to the devastation of numerous villages, as well as airstrikes aimed at Beirut and Baalbek. He also reiterated that “the human cost is exceedingly high.”

Borrell said Israeli airstrikes had claimed the lives of over 3,500 people in Lebanon, a figure three times greater than the casualties recorded in 2006.

The only viable path forward, Borrell said, is an immediate ceasefire and the full implementation of Security Council Resolution 1701.

Borrell praised the UNIFIL forces and confirmed the EU’s readiness to allocate €200 million ($208.3 million) to the Lebanese Armed Forces.

He emphasized the Lebanese need to “assume their political responsibilities by electing a president and putting an end to this prolonged power vacuum that has exceeded two years.”

Borrell said a ceasefire proposal for Gaza is pending Israeli government approval, and “we, as the international community, need to work to ensure the respect of international law, as we see famine being used as a weapon of war through international law violations, the complete siege imposed on Gaza and the number of people that are dying in Lebanon.”

He added that in his view the decisions of the International Criminal Court to issue arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defense minister, Yoav Gallant, for Israel’s activities in Gaza were not politically motivated and had been made under international law, which applied to everyone. “We strongly support the court,” he said.


15 Turkish-backed fighters killed in north Syria clashes with Kurdish-led forces

Updated 25 November 2024
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15 Turkish-backed fighters killed in north Syria clashes with Kurdish-led forces

  • SDF fighters “infiltrated positions of the Turkish-backed” troops in the Aleppo countryside, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor said
  • The SDF is a US-backed force that spearheaded the fighting against the Daesh group in its last Syria strongholds before its territorial defeat in 2019

BEIRUT: At least 15 Ankara-backed Syrian fighters were killed Sunday after Kurdish-led forces infiltrated their territory in the country’s north, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor said.
Fighters from the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), who controls swathes of the country’s northeast, “infiltrated positions of the Turkish-backed” fighters in the Aleppo countryside, said the Observatory, which has a network of sources inside Syria.
“The two sides engaged in violent clashes” that killed 15 of the Ankara-backed fighters, the monitor said.
An AFP correspondent in Syria’s north said the clashes had taken place near the city of Al-Bab, where authorities said schools would be suspended on Monday due to the violence.
The SDF is a US-backed force that spearheaded the fighting against the Daesh group in its last Syria strongholds before its territorial defeat in 2019.
It is dominated by the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG), viewed by Ankara as an offshoot of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) which claimed the attack on Ankara.
Turkish troops and allied rebel factions control swathes of northern Syria following successive cross-border offensives since 2016, most of them targeting the SDF.


Israel moving towards a ceasefire deal in Lebanon, Axios reports

Updated 25 November 2024
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Israel moving towards a ceasefire deal in Lebanon, Axios reports

BEIRUT: Israel is moving towards a ceasefire agreement in Lebanon with the Hezbollah militant group, Axios reporter Barak Ravid posted on X on Sunday, citing a senior Israeli official.
A separate report from Israel's public broadcaster Kan, citing an Israeli official, said there was no green light given on an agreement in Lebanon, with issues still yet to be resolved.

 


Russian plane catches fire after landing in Turkiye but passengers and crew are safely evacuated

Updated 25 November 2024
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Russian plane catches fire after landing in Turkiye but passengers and crew are safely evacuated

  • “Eighty nine passengers and six crew members on board were safely evacuated at 9:43 p.m. (1843 GMT) and there were no injuries”

ANKARA, Turkiye: The engine of a Russian plane with 95 people on board caught fire after landing at Antalya airport in southern Turkiye on Sunday, Turkiye’s transportation ministry said. All passengers and crew were safely evacuated.
The Sukhoi Superjet 100 type aircraft run by Azimuth Airlines had taken off from Sochi and was carrying 89 passengers and six crew members, the ministry said in a statement.
The pilot made an emergency call after the aircraft landed at 9:34 p.m. local time, and airport rescue and firefighting crews quickly extinguished the fire, according to the statement.
No one was hurt, the statement said.
The cause of the fire was not immediately known.
A video of the incident posted by the aviation news website, Airport Haber, showed flames coming out from the left side of the plane as emergency crews doused the aircraft. Passengers were seen evacuating the plane through an emergency slide, some carrying belongings.
The transportation ministry said efforts were underway to remove the aircraft from the runway. Arrivals at the airport were temporarily suspended while departures were taking place from a military-run runway.

 


War-hit Lebanon suspends in-person classes in Beirut area till end of December

Smoke billows over Beirut’s southern suburbs after an Israeli strike, seen from Baabda.
Updated 25 November 2024
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War-hit Lebanon suspends in-person classes in Beirut area till end of December

  • Education minister announced “the suspension of in-person teaching” in schools, technical institutes and private higher education institutions in Beirut
  • Suspension of in-person teaching also applies to parts of neighboring Metn, Baabda and Shouf districts starting Monday

BEIRUT: Lebanon has suspended in-person classes in the Beirut area until the end of December, the education ministry announced Sunday, citing safety concerns after a series of Israeli air strikes this week.
Education Minister Abbas Halabi announced in a statement “the suspension of in-person teaching” in schools, technical institutes and private higher education institutions in Beirut and parts of the neighboring Metn, Baabda and Shouf districts starting Monday “for the safety of students, educational institutions and parents, in light of the current dangerous conditions.”
Earlier on Sunday, Lebanese state media reported two Israeli strikes on Beirut’s southern suburbs, about an hour after the Israeli military posted evacuation calls online for parts of the Hezbollah bastion.
“Israeli warplanes launched two violent strikes on Beirut’s southern suburbs in the Kafaat area,” the official National News Agency said.
The southern Beirut area has been repeatedly struck since September 23 when Israel intensified its air campaign also targeting Hezbollah bastions in Lebanon’s east and south. It later sent in ground troops to southern Lebanon.