LEBANON PREVENTED TERRORIST ATTACKS PLANNED FROM SYRIA’S MILITANT-HELD IDLIB PROVINCE

ILLUSTRATIVE IMAGE: REUTERS / Mohamed Azakir

Lebanon foiled a plot by militants based in the Syrian province of Idlib to carry out 2 attacks this year against places of worship and Lebanese army positions, Interior Minister Nohad Machnouk said on December 10.

During a televised news conference, the attacks were timed to coincide with Lebanon’s general election, which took place in May. The Internal Security Forces monitored the plot and thwarted it.

The province of Idlib is a part of the last remaining militant stronghold in Syria. A major part of it is held by extremist militant groups like Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (formerly Jabhat al-Nusra, the Syrian branch of al-Qaeda).

These are the same “moderates” that the US-led bloc is defending when it claims that the Syrian Army should not employ a military solution in the area if the peace is not reached by diplomatic measrues.

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