The army command received information that terrorist are plotting to attack Ashoura gatherings through explosive-rigged cars and female suicide bombers.

According to al-Joumhouria newspaper published on Tuesday, the army detained Khadija Hmeid, one of the female bombers who were trained to drive booby-trapped cars and crash Ashoura gatherings.

A U.S. judge on Monday sentenced an Indian man to 15 years in prison for conspiracy and attempting to provide weapons to Hizbullah.

Patrick Nayyar, a 50-year-old living illegally in New York, was arrested in 2009 and found guilty by a jury in March 2012. He was sentenced to 15 years in jail by District Judge Robert Sweet.

Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said Monday that Saudi Arabia must shoulder a bigger responsibility in the fight against the extremist ideology of the Islamic State group, noting that military efforts alone cannot eradicate the jihadist organization.

“Nowadays, the prime responsibility in the Islamic world for stopping the proliferation of this ideology falls on the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,” Nasrallah said in a televised speech.

A dangerous militant recently arrested by the army has confessed that he had been plotting to establish an “Islamic emirate” straddling four towns in the northern district of Dinniyeh as part of a broader scheme to connect Syria's Qalamun to the Lebanese coast.

Ahmed Miqati, aka Abu al-Hoda and Abu Bakr, told interrogators that he was making plans to “occupy the towns of Bakhoun, Asoun, Sir al-Dinniyeh and Bqaa Safrine, given that security there is loose,” state-run National News Agency reported.

Health Minister Wael Abu Faour on Monday confirmed receiving a letter from the abductors of the Lebanese troops and policemen, as the Islamic State group threatened to behead two soldiers and al-Nusra Front halted the execution of Ali al-Bazzal.

In remarks to state-run National News Agency, Abu Faour said he “received from the government a letter containing the captors' demands,” without specifying if it is from the IS or al-Nusra.

Prime Minister Tammam Salam stated on Monday that the unrest in the northern city of Tripoli “is nearing its end,” stressing the need for a national stance towards eliminating the terrorists.

He said: “The order to take decisive action against the terrorists has been given.”

Two terrorist cells were discovered on Monday in the southern city of Sidon, reported Voice of Lebanon radio (93.3).

It said that one cell was seeking to carry out an attack against the al-Zahra mosque, while the other was seeking to attack Army Intelligence positions.

Clashes broke out on Monday between the army and gunmen in the town of Bhannine in the northern region of Akkar as it continued its pursuit of the fugitives following days of unrest, reported the National News Agency.

It said that one officer was lightly wounded in the shootout that took place in the orchards of Bhannine.

The army Monday took control of the Tripoli district of Bab al-Tabbaneh where thousands of civilians fled deadly clashes between troops and Islamist militants.

The fighting was the fiercest bout of Syria-related violence in the northern port city since the 2011 outbreak of the civil war in Lebanon's neighbor, leaving 11 soldiers and five civilians dead between Friday and Sunday.

The Kataeb Party stressed on Monday the necessity of “solidarity with the army in order to consolidate sovereignty,” saying that this needs "political and national support by the leaders in Tripoli."

In a statement issued after its weekly meeting, Kataeb's political bureau stated that it “stands firmly by the people of Tripoli," calling for “their full protection and for urgently providing them with humanitarian assistance.”