Officials Deny Reports of Alleged IS Deployment in Sannine

Reports of an alleged deployment by Islamic State gunmen in Sannine's mountains stirred an uproar in the country on Friday, although several officials refuted the claims and the army said its measures in the area were part of “preventive security.”

Ad-Diyar newspaper had on Friday morning quoted Arsal's municipal chief as saying that “members of the IS are deployed in the mountains of Zahle and Sannine.”

“The Lebanese army raided a hotel in Sannine's mountains and arrested heavily armed Syrians,” ad-Diyar added, noting that the military also deployed troops “all the way from Baskinta to Baqish to Sannine's mountains.”

“A large number of civilian residents were seen carrying arms and deploying in the mountains to defend Baskinta, Bteghrine, Bikfaya and the highlands of Northern Metn,” the newspaper alleged.

The claims prompted the army to issue a communique in which it condemned inaccurate reports that “spark unjustified fear among citizens.”

The military stressed that the allegations are baseless, reassuring that its recent measures in some areas, including Baskinta, were part of “preventive security across all Lebanese regions, given the circumstances that the country is going through.”

Earlier on Friday, Northern Metn MP Ibrahim Kanaan of the Change and Reform bloc reassured after phone talks with the army command and the intelligence directorate that “there are no security developments in Sannine and Northern Metn's mountains but rather preventive measures by the Lebanese army.”

He said troops were “inspecting the places of residence of (Syrian) refugees to make sure that there are no fugitives among them.”

“There is no need to panic,” Kanaan added.

MP Michel Murr for his part denied “media reports about the presence of IS gunmen in the mountains of Baskinta and Sannine.”

The reports come in the wake of a deadly battle that the jihadists fought against the Lebanese army in the Bekaa town of Arsal, during which they overran the town and killed and kidnapped dozens of troops and policemen.

Y.R.