Al-Qaida Ranking Terrorist Doubling for Syrian Intelligence Arrested in Lebanon
| The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the suspect whose name and nationality could not be revealed pending completion of the ongoing investigation, was busted Tuesday at a hotel suite in Beirut’s district of Ashrafiyeh. The “very dangerous terrorist,” according to the source, had crossed into Lebanon “illegally” overland from neighboring Syria over the weekend to follow up “coordination with Fatah al-Islam terrorists” besieged in the northern refugee camp of Nahr al-Bared. The suspect, a national of an oil-rich Arab country, used “two forged Lebanese identity cards, one identified him as Hagop and the second identified him as Ahmed Merie,” the source said. “He also had 12 forged travel documents, including British, Arab and Latin American passports,” added the source who asked not to be identified. The suspect, according to the source, had “sold out al-Qaida in favor of cooperation with Syrian intelligence after he was offered safe haven in Syria.” Last week, according to the source, the suspect “turned in to the Syrian intelligence a ranking Saudi member of al-Qaida known as Abu Talha. He did the Syrians a major favor that could help them boost their tense relations with the Americans.” Abu Talha, whose real name is not known, is on the U.S. list of most wanted terrorists, according to the source. After turning in Abu Talha, the Syrian intelligence command “sent the suspect to Lebanon to re-organize Fatah al-Islam and other Syrian-sponsored terrorists and sponsor a spate of attacks on a variety of targets in Lebanon aimed at destabilizing the situation,” the source added. “The Syrians want to destabilize Lebanon and tell the Americans: ‘We can control the situation like we arrested Abu Talha. Strike a deal with us and Lebanon would be under control’,” the source said. He said Fatah al-Islam terrorists arrested in north Lebanon “told investigators of the suspect’s moves and revealed important information which led to his arrest.” He disclosed that within the framework of the crackdown of Fatah al-Islam terrorists police officers had “confiscated in several hideouts six scanning machines used to forge passports, identity cards and other documents.” “Such forgeries are almost perfect and the fake documents, especially passports, can be discovered only by the respective nations’ authorities. So these terrorists do not use them in the nations of issue,” he explained. Upon raiding the suspect’s hotel suite, police officers confiscated “maps, pictures and a list of selected targets for terrorist attacks in Lebanon,” the source told Naharnet. He said anti-terrorism police officers also confiscated “a large number of compact discs and a personal computer providing a wealth of information on terrorists’ activities in Lebanon and the region.” The source explained that al-Qaida is “no more a solid-structure network. Many of its ranking members have joined several intelligence agencies and are used to infiltrate, control and direct local Qaida-inspired fanatics to carry out attacks that serve the interests of these intelligence agencies.” Fatah al-Islam, the source added, “is one of such local groups. Its members are inspired by al-Qaida ideology, but its attacks are directed by Syrian intelligence officers.” Police have arrested at least 90 people on charges of affiliation with Fatah al-Islam and were under interrogation. The source said some of them have provided “priceless information related to terrorist activity.” In a related development, the source said police also arrested “two Syrian nationals” that had with them “dozens of photographs of Saudi Ambassador to Lebanon Abdul Aziz Khoja.” “They had pictures of him at his apartment’s balcony, at the entrance to the building and in so many other locations. It appears they were monitoring his moves in preparation for an attack on him,” the source added without further elaboration. Security has been beefed up at major Lebanese cities and towns following outbreak of the clashes with Fatah al-Islam militants in the northern town of Tripoli 11 days ago and the spate of bombings that followed. The group, headed by Palestinian-Jordanian Shaker Absi, has vowed to attack a variety of targets throughout Lebanon if the army maintained the siege of its militants at Nahr al-Bared camp.(An Nahar photo shows the hotel where the terrorist mastermind was busted) |
| Beirut, 29 May 07 |
