Excerpts: Lebanon's 'deteriorating situation'.2 top Jordan Salafists join IS
October 19, 2014

+++SOURCE: Naharnet (Lebanon) 19 Oct.’14:”Lebanon P.M. Gripped by Fear over
Deteriorating Situation”

SUBJECT: Lebanon’s ‘deteriorating situation’

FULL TEXT:Prime Minister Tammam Salam voiced concern on Sunday[19 Oct.] over
the crises gripping the country, considering that Lebanon is facing the
unknown.

“Most of the current issues reached a standstill,” Salam's visitors quoted
him as saying in comments published in An Nahar newspaper.

Lebanon plunged into a presidential vacuum due to the failure of the rival
March 8 and 14 camps to agree on a compromise candidate, which is impacting
the political process as lawmakers are set to renew the term of the
parliament to avert further deterioration in state institutions.

Officials are also citing security fears after jihadists from the Islamic
State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and al-Nusra Front overran the
northeastern border town of Arsal in August and engaged in bloody clashes
with the army.

Concerning the case of the abducted policemen and soldiers, Salam said that
despite the exerted efforts to resolve the matter no positive results are
looming in the horizon.

The premier's visitors were skeptic on the mediation carried out by Qatar
and Turkey to safely release the kidnapped servicemen.

The troops and police were kidnapped by the Islamic militants as they were
withdrawing from Arsal.

Their capture and the failure of the Lebanese authorities to secure their
release sparked protests across Lebanon. The families are fearing that the
extremists would kill their loved ones after they executed three of the
hostages in August and September.

The kidnappers have several demands to release the captives. One of them is
the freedom of Islamist inmates in Roumieh prison.





+++SOURCE: Jordan Times 19 Oct.’14:”Hard-line Jordanian Salafists join
Islamic State leadership” by Taylor Luck

SUBJECT: 2 top Jordan Salafists join IS

QUOTE:”Around 1200 Jordanians are currently fighting alongside the jihadist
group in Iraq and Syria”, ”The terrorist group has no official presence in
Jordan”, “20 . . . Jordanian clerics believed to be serving in leadership
posts within IS”

FULL TEXT:AMMAN — Hard-line Jordanian Salafists Omar Mahdi Zeidan and Saad
Hneity have joined the Islamic State (IS) terrorist group in Syria,
according to jihadist sources.

The sources on Saturday [18 Oct.]said that Zeidan arrived last week in the
Syrian town of Raqqa to join IS ranks.

Known as an influential speaker and youth leader within the hard-line
Jordanian Jihadi-Salafist movement in the northern city of Irbid, the cleric
is a vocal supporter of IS.

Zeidan recently posted fatwas and speeches on the Internet attacking
Salafist leaders Abu Mohammad Al Maqdissi and Abu Qatada for their
criticisms of IS.

IS members confirmed Zeidan’s arrival to the so-called “caliphate”, or
territory under the jihadist group’s control in Iraq and Syria, in messages
posted via the social networking site Twitter on Friday[17 Oct.].

It was unclear how Zeidan got there, with sources within the Jordanian
Salafist movement claiming that he illegally crossed into Syria from Jordan
last Tuesday [14 Oct.].

Meanwhile, Hneity, the number two leader of the Jordanian Salafist movement,
confirmed via Twitter and Facebook on Friday[17 Oct.] that he has joined IS
in Syria and arrived on “caliphate soil”.

Hneity had travelled to Syria in February to act as mediator between warring
jihadist groups, namely IS and Al Qaeda’s Syria branch, Jabhat Al Nusra.

His mediation was ultimately rejected by both sides, and he has since
believed to have been acting as an adviser to IS. Despite remaining active
on social networking sites, Friday’s[17 Oct.] posts marked the first time
Hneity publicly declared his allegiance to the group.

Zeidan and Hneity’s arrival raises to 20 the total number of Jordanian
clerics believed to be serving in leadership posts within IS.

Around 1,200 Jordanians are currently fighting alongside the jihadist group
in Iraq and Syria, Salafist and Syrian jihadist sources claim.

The terrorist group has no official presence in Jordan.
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Sue Lerner - Associate, IMRA
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