ISF says detained Islamic State commander
Lebanese authorities said Monday they had detained a Syrian commander from the Islamic State group, as Damascus investigates an IS-linked cell accused of bombings during a visit by France's President Emmanuel Macron.
In a statement, Lebanon's Internal Security Forces (ISF) said they arrested the suspect "after careful monitoring and follow-up operations" on June 30 and that he was the group's leader in central and southern Syria.
The announcement comes nearly a week after two bombings hit Damascus during Macron's visit to Syria, killing one person and wounding dozens, near the hotel where the French leader spent the night.
Syrian authorities had said Thursday that preliminary investigations showed IS was behind the attack.
On Monday, the Syrian interior ministry published the names of three men it had interrogated, alleging that they were behind the bombings.
While its grip on Syrian territory it had claimed was broken in 2019, IS remains active in some cells across the country.
In Lebanon, Sunni extremist groups that pledged allegiance to IS fought several battles with the army in the 2010s and carried out a series of deadly bombings targeting Hezbollah and its supporters.
But they were largely defeated militarily in 2017.
Last year, Lebanon's military said it arrested the suspected leader of the IS group in the country, implicating him in planning several operations.
Lebanon and Syria share a porous, 330-kilometer (205-mile) border notorious for the smuggling of people and goods.
Source: Agence France Presse
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