Army Says Detainee Hujeiri Involved in Arsal Attacks on Clerics, Troops
The detainee Mohammed Ibrahim al-Hujeiri, aka Kahroub, was involved in the bomb attacks that killed a number of Syrian Muslim clerics and wounded Lebanese troops in the northeastern border town of Arsal, the army said Tuesday.
“Along with a man called Abou Ali al-Yabroudi, the detainee Hujeiri collected information about the time and place of the meeting that the Qalamoun Scholars Committee held in Arsal,” the Army Command said in a statement.
“They then tasked the Syrian Abou Firas with booby-trapping a motorbike and parking it outside the meeting's venue and blowing it up on November 5,” it added.
At least six clerics were killed and several others wounded in the explosion.
Hujeiri was also involved in a bombing that targeted an army vehicle in Arsal the next day.
“In collaboration with al-Yabroudi, Abou Firas and Abou Ali al-Asiri, he targeted a military personnel carrier with a roadside bomb,” the army said.
Five soldiers were wounded in the bombing.
The man has also confessed to booby-trapping “ten motorcycles with the aim of carrying out assassinations inside Arsal,” the army added.
Hujeiri also has a long record of activities with several extremist groups.
During his cooperation with al-Yabroudi, their group booby-trapped five cars with the aim of “targeting army posts, facilitating the entry of militants, and enabling them to reach Tripoli to seize control of an outlet to the sea.”
Hujeiri, who had ties to the Islamic State's Qalamoun branch, had also been a member of the Seif al-Haq group led by the Syrian Amin Mohammed Ghourli, which comprises Lebanese and Syrian nationals, the army said.
The group was behind firing rockets at Hermel, monitoring a judge's house with the aim of abducting him, and distributing ammo to militants during the deadly Arsal battles with the army.
Hujeiri had also created an IS cell in the town in order to monitor individuals who cooperate with Lebanese security agencies, the army added.
Y.R.
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