[Washington Times] Christopher Allbritton - Heavily armed foreign jihadists have been entering Lebanon from Syria from around the time Western authorities noticed a drop in the infiltration of foreign fighters from Syria to Iraq, Lebanese officials say. Syrian authorities, hoping to disrupt Lebanon so they can reassert control of the country, "have stopped sending [the jihadists] to Iraq and are now sending them here," charged Mohammed Salam, a specialist in Palestinian affairs in Lebanon. UN officials running the Nahr el-Bared camp near Tripoli in northern Lebanon said a large band of foreigners carrying mortars, rockets, explosive belts and other heavy weapons entered the camp in a group several months ago. That is near the time that infiltration of militants from Syria into Iraq fell off, according to Lebanese authorities, who suspect the jihadists were simply redirected by Damascus.
2007-05-29 01:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive