[Gulf Times-Qatar] Alistair Lyon - UN peacekeepers in Lebanon take seriously the threat implied by al-Qaeda's Ayman al-Zawahri when he branded them "enemies of Islam" a month ago. The risk of attack by Sunni Islamist militants lurks for UNIFIL. "The large presence of Western forces in UNIFIL could make it a tempting target for al-Qaeda or a loosely affiliated group," said an official of a non-Lebanese Islamist group. Thomas Jaensch, the captain of a German frigate patrolling the coast, said worst-case scenarios included attack by an "airborne device" or from an explosives-packed speedboat. Acting Lebanese Interior Minister Ahmad Fatfat on Saturday identified the Tripoli area in north Lebanon, the Palestinian camp of Ain al-Hilweh, and parts of the southern Bekaa Valley as areas where al-Qaeda might gain a foothold.
2006-10-18 01:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive