MEDIASCOPE: Lebanon Passes Dangerous Security Trap

Local Editor

AL-AKHBAR:

Under the Title "Jihadi" Groups: We Lost Battle, Radwan Mortada writes
that the Lebanese army has succeeded in defeating the armed
terrorists, but most peculiar is when surveying the opinion of
"Jhadists" concerning the latest confrontations, they clearly confers
that the outcome of the battle was expected.

Yet, the "Jihadists" at the same time praised their actions of
"torturing the army soldiers and serving them major losses, as the
army is weak and exposed, not to mention that it is not qualified to
engage in street fights."

...The "Jihadi" groups agree that the defeat was expected, which
constituted ‘a painful blow for the young so-called Muslims in the
North. Based on the latest battle, some of these groups are holding
evaluation and restructuring sessions even through social media. They
[the groups] have consensus that there has been a mistake in timing,
and see that things went out of control which led the groups to act in
a childish and haphazard manner.

One of ‘al-Nusra' arrested members in Lebanon told al-Akhbar that "the
group of Shekh Abu Al-Huda Al-Mikati initiated the fighting in the
markets in coordination with ‘Ansar al-Dawla in the North'. He also
noted that the other groups joined the fighting in fear that it would
be accused of falling back in supporting Al-Nusra.
_____

Under the title ‘Army: Only Settlement to Reprimand the Wanted',
Al-Akhbar said that High-ranked military sources told the daily
newspaper that "The army has fulfilled its goal. It broke the scheme
of the terrorists, and has fed them major losses. Geographically
speaking, the army entered the area of Bab al-Tabbana and deployed its
members there; where al-Tabbana has been always out of reach of the
state."

Concerning the battle, the source noted that the army had made a
decision not to use ‘excessive force' in order to preserve the lives
and houses of the people. It also added that there has been a
remarkable number of Syrians among the arrested, provided with
specialized sniping rifles while the rest Lebanese mostly from
Tabbana.

The source assures "the only settlement in this battle is to arrest
[the terrorists] or turning in themselves.
_____

AN-NAHAR:

Kurd fighters in Kobani are saying that "IS" extremists' claims to have
beheaded the poster girl of the Kurdish militia is false.
The female fighter, known only by the name Rehana, became famous after
a picture of her making the peace sign went viral on Twitter.

She is reported to have killed more than 100 "jihadists" in the battle
for the strategically important town of Kobani, on the Turkey-Syria
border.

"IS" had claimed that a photo of a grinning rebel holding a woman's
severed head is evidence that she is dead. But Kurdish journalist
Pawan Durani said it was untrue, reports UK tabloid Daily Mirror.
He wrote today: "Rehana is very much alive. ISIS supporters just
trying to lift morale.

"Let ISIS produce even a single picture of Rehana. Propaganda and
falsehood runs in their blood. Rehana keeps hunting them."
She became a symbol for the Kurdish resistance movement against
"Islamic State" when Pawan tweeted her picture on October 13.