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Tuesday, October 28, 2014
Lebanese military foil ISIS attempt to establish emirate in Tripoli

Lebanese military foil ISIS attempt to establish emirate in Tripoli: sources
ISIS and Al-Nusra Front fought together against Lebanese forces in port city
Thair Abbas Asharq Al-Awsat Tuesday, 28 Oct, 2014
http://www.aawsat.net/2014/10/article55337980

Beirut, Asharq Al-Awsat—Lebanon’s military have halted an attempt by
extremist groups to establish an Islamic emirate centered around the city of
Tripoli after more than four days of fighting, an official source said on
Monday.

A Lebanese military official, speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat on the condition
of anonymity because he was not authorized to brief the media, said that
Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) fighters had been seeking to take
over the port city and declare it part of the “caliphate” it established on
Iraqi and Syrian territory earlier this year, when it declared its leader
Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi the leader of the world’s Muslims.

Lebanese military and security forces successfully drove the Islamist
fighters out of Tripoli, Lebanon’s second largest city, after four days of
fighting that left at least 42 people dead and hundreds more injured.
Lebanese officials and politicians hailed the operation a success as efforts
continue to pursue and capture the fleeing militants, including Sheikh
Khaled Hablas of the city’s Haroun Mosque and fighters affiliated to his
group.

Sources informed Asharq Al-Awsat that ISIS gunmen were fighting alongside
Al-Nusra Front fighters and other Sunni militants against the Lebanese
authorities, in what analysts have described as a dangerous development.
ISIS and Al-Nusra Front have clashed repeatedly in Syria; it is as yet
unclear whether this was a temporary alliance against the Lebanese army or
if the ISIS-Al-Nusra Front cooperation represents a broader movement on the
ground and could affect the fighting in Iraq and Syria.

The Lebanese military source confirmed that Al-Nusra Front leader Imad Ahmed
Juma had sworn allegiance to Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi in August. The source
added that Juma and his fighters participated in the attempt to take control
of Tripoli, fighting alongside ISIS militants.

Tripoli residents, speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat after the liberation of the
city, said that they believed the militant’s main objective had been to
establish a land bridge from Syria’s Qalamoun mountains to the Lebanese
coast.

Captured fighters reportedly informed Lebanese authorities that the
establishment of an Islamic emirate in Tripoli had been the first phase of a
broader plan to establish control of other cities along the Lebanese western
seaboard. ISIS and its affiliates would also have sought to transfer and
receive fighters and arms via these ports.

Captured Al-Nusra Front commander Ahmed Mikati confirmed the ISIS plans, the
Lebanese military official told Asharq Al-Awsat. Mikati had also implicated
a number of others in the plot to establish an emirate, including well-known
Lebanese Salafist Sheikhs Kamal Al-Bustani and Khaled Hoblos, among others.

Mikati said that ISIS had been seeking to carry out the “Mosul scenario” in
Tripoli and the surrounding area. ISIS fighters took over the northern city
Iraqi city of Mosul in June and quickly pushed on to secure the surrounding
villages and territory after locking down the city, entrenching their grip
on the region.

The Al-Nusra Front commander said that the militants were planning to
quickly occupy Tripoli’s surrounding villages before moving on to secure
other areas in Lebanon. “The first phase of the plan was to completely
takeover Tripoli with the objective of securing a land bridge connection
between Qalamoun in Syria with the Lebanese coast,” Mikati said.

Tripoli residents who fled the fighting have begun returning to the city
with even more army reinforcements expected to be dispatched to the region
within the next few days, local media reported. Although many ISIS-Al-Nusra
Front fighters were killed or captured in the fighting, many others remain
on the run with Lebanese security and military patrols now seeking to
capture them and secure the situation on the ground.

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