From Assad-era kidnappings to alleged terror plot: Lebanon uncovers cross-border network

Report by Lara El Hachem, English adaptation by Karine Keuchkerian

From kidnapping on behalf of the Assad regime to suspected preparations for acts of sabotage.

This is the story of a former member of Lebanon’s Internal Security Forces who was dismissed from service in 2016 after allegedly kidnapping Syrian military defectors from the Assad regime and handing them over to the regime, according to an investigation.

But the story did not end in 2016.

Based on security information obtained by the Information Branch, the man was arrested again, along with a young Syrian man in Tripoli, on orders from the Public Prosecution at the Court of Cassation. The investigation revealed that he was part of a network operating between Lebanon and Syria, specifically between northern Lebanon, Beirut’s southern suburbs, and the Bekaa region.

The network allegedly trained individuals to use drones.

The operation began in Beirut’s southern suburbs with a man known as “Abu Alaa,” whose identity is known and who is suspected by the judiciary of having links to Hezbollah, according to the investigation. He allegedly provided the trainees with logistical and financial support before handing them over to “Hajj Samer” in the Bekaa to train them and send them to Syria.

Analysis of telecommunications data also led to the arrest of a former Syrian air force officer who was in Lebanon.

According to the detainees’ confessions, the network was preparing to carry out operations targeting Syrian security forces. Further evidence of the network’s reach emerged when Syrian authorities arrested three armed men whose photos were found on the phones of several detainees in Lebanon. The detainees acknowledged that the three had received training in Lebanon.

During raids carried out by the Information Branch, grenades and explosive materials were seized. A Lebanese State Security member, the brother of the dismissed officer, was also arrested on suspicion of helping the network transport weapons.

According to the investigation, he admitted to throwing some of the weapons into the Nahr al-Kabir River. However, searches conducted by divers at the request of the Public Prosecution at the Court of Cassation failed to locate them.

Ultimately, the case was referred to the Military Public Prosecution. Military Court Government Commissioner Judge Claude Ghanem charged 15 people, including five detainees, with offenses related to terrorist acts, preparing explosive devices, preparing to use drones, smuggling people between Lebanon and Syria, and forming a criminal group with the intent of disrupting security.