Al-Atrash Confesses to Prior Knowledge to Attacks Targeting Dahiyeh

Sheikh Omar al-Atrash, who is allegedly linked to the recent attacks in Beirut's southern suburbs, had confessed to moving two explosive-rigged cars to Beirut and his prior knowledge to the suicide attacks targeting Dahiyeh, a Hizbullah stronghold.

According to al-Akhbar newspaper published on Tuesday, al-Atrash, who was arrested by the Army last week, testified that he transported people and cars from the Bekaa border town of Arsal to Beirut and handed them over to culprits, however, he didn't know the details of their scheme.

Security sources told the newspaper that al-Atrash confessed to his prior knowledge to attempts to expand the scope of bombings in Dahiyeh and other areas.

“Al-Atrash transported Lebanese, Syrian and Palestinian nationals” linked to the bombings plot, the sources said.

The newspaper described the Sheikh's confessions as “notoriously dangerous.”

Al-Atrash said that he had moved “a Grand Cherokee and BMW X5 cars to Beirut.”

He said that the two cars were relocated in a warehouse on the outskirts of Beirut's southern suburbs, which is owned by a man nicknamed as Abou Suleiman.

The Sheikh, who hails from the Bekaa Valley, admitted that Palestinian Ibrahim Abou Maaileq, known as Abou Jaafar, who was killed last week in armed clashes with the army in Chtaura, was responsible for setting a scheme to target Dahiyeh.

According to the daily, Abou Jaafar planned with another Lebanese man to send two suicide bombers to open fire on citizens using machine guns before blowing themselves up. After people gather around to save the injured an explosive-rigged car would then explode in the area.

The report added that al-Atrash presented “information of high importance” regarding the transportation of explosive-laden cars from Syrian territories to Lebanon via Arsal, adding that a Palestinian refugee camp has been used several times as a pit stop for suicide bombers and the booby-trapped cars.

Al-Nusra Front in Lebanon -- believed to be the local franchise of Syria's Al-Nusra Front, a jihadist rebel movement – had recently warned that attacks on Hizbullah-controlled areas will continue until Lebanon releases Sunni Islamist prisoners and the party withdraws from Syria.

Al-Nusra Front in Lebanon warned Sunnis against "approaching or residing in or near (Hizbullah's) bases, and (to) avoid gathering around its meeting points."

The war in Syria has inflamed sectarian tensions in Lebanon, with Hizbullah backing President Bashar Assad's regime and many Sunnis supporting the rebellion against him.