Lebanese Army Arrests 3rd Terrorist Cell in Kfar Shouba

Source: Al-Manar TV, 18-10-2008

Another achievement could be added to the heroic record of the Lebanese Intelligence Army...

After arresting Jawhar Terrorist Network in North of Lebanon, the Lebanese army has succeeded in disclosing another network but this time in Kfar Shouba, South of Lebanon.

A police officer and two civilians were accused by a military judge on Friday of possessing explosives with the intent to commit terrorist acts against the United Nations Interim Forces in Southern Lebanon (UNIFIL).

"The three men were caught in possession of vials containing unknown substances which have been sent to a laboratory to determine their contents," a judicial official said on condition of anonymity.

The officials say the three were arrested this week after security troops confiscated weapons and vessels containing a liquid possibly used to activate explosives.

"The military judge has accused them of possession of illegal substances and has ordered their detention," the official said.

Lebanese authorities announced last Sunday the arrest of a "terrorist network" thought to be behind three deadly attacks against the army in Tripoli, North of Lebanon since May.

The cell is thought to be linked to the al-Qaida inspired Fatah al-Islam group, that fought a deadly 15-week battle with the army in the Nahr al-Bared Palestinian refugee camp in northern Lebanon last year, a security official said.

Lebanese daily As-Safir reported that the Lebanese army's intelligence services were still investigating the "Kfar Shouba network", members of which were arrested nine days ago.

The arrested persons were identified as Rifaat Kaderi from Kfar Shouba, Mustapha Bakkour from the northern area of Minieh and Mohammad Amer from Swayri in the western Bekaa Valley.

The newspaper report added that the explosives that were found were highly dangerous and the group might have been planning to target UNFIL. Al-Manar Channel quoted sources as identifying the dangerous liquid as the "red mercury" and the cost of each vessel is around one million dollars.