Abi Hureira, said in a telephone interview with the pan-Arab Al Hayat newspaper that "sleeper cells" in all 12 Palestinian refugee camps and elsewhere in Lebanon were awaiting word for a "violent response."

He claimed that Fatah al-Islam is "capable of transferring the battle to any spot in Lebanon."

"We can easily do that," he told Al Hayat by telephone from Nahr al-Bared.

He said Fatah al-Islam can launch a guerrilla war "which no army can defeat."

Abi Hureira said Fatah al-Islam members were "highly qualified" warriors with fighting experience outside Lebanon," adding that he himself enjoys a 21-year combating experience in various countries.

He emphasized that his group has no intentions to attack peacekeepers of the U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon "as long as they do not hit us."

Abi Hureira said between 600 to 700 Fatah al-Islam militants were spread across Lebanon's Palestinian refugee camps, not just in Nahr al-Bared as believed by the Lebanese authorities.

"They are (in a state) of maximum alert," he said.