Rockets Land in Hezbollah Stronghold in Beirut

In this photo released by the Syrian official news agency SANA, Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah, gives a televised speech from an unknown location, May 25, 2013

Lebanese security officials say two rockets have hit a Beirut neighborhood that is a stronghold of Hezbollah militants.

Reports say the rockets landed in the southern part of the Lebanese capital Sunday, wounding at least three people. It was not clear who was responsible for firing them.

The rocket attacks came a day after Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah vowed his group will not stand by while the neighboring government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is attacked.

Nasrallah said in a speech Saturday that Hezbollah is fighting in Syria to protect Lebanon from the threat of radical Islamists.  It was the first time Nasrallah has publicly confirmed Hezbollah's fighting presence in Syria.

The speech was given as Syrian troops and Hezbollah fighters carried out the heaviest barrage of gunfire in a week-long battle to re-take the strategic town of Qusair from rebel fighters.

from VOA News
May 26, 2013

A policeman inspects damaged cars after two rockets hit houses and parked cars in Beirut suburbs May 26, 2013 (Reuters / Mohammed Azakir)

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Hezbollah says ready to receive "game-changing weapons" from Syria

BEIRUT, May 9 (Xinhua) -- The Lebanese Hezbollah's chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah warned Israel Thursday that his militia is ready to receive "game-changing weapons" from Syria.
"Israel bombed Syria in order to say that continuing to back the resistance (against Israel) and supply it with military aid will lead to the downfall of the regime," Nasrallah said in a televised speech, referring to Israel's airstrike on Syrian military facilities early Sunday.

"Israel knows that the source of strength of the resistance in Lebanon and Palestine is Syria, that's why it wants to remove it from the equation and to besiege the resistance in Lebanon and Palestine," he said.

"Syria's first response was the decision to grant the resistance 'game-changing' weapons which it had never acquired in the past," he said.

On the recent Israeli attacks on military targets in and near Damascus, the Hezbollah chief said "The objective (of the attacks) is to harm the capabilities of Syria and its army and to remove it from the equation of the conflict with the enemy."

"Syria does not have a peace treaty with Israel, but there is a truce agreement and everyone knows what Syria has offered to resistance movements, especially the Palestinian resistance," he said.

from XINHUA
Editor: Bi Mingxin
2013-05-10 03:08:27

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Beirut Car Bomb Kills 8, Including Intel Chief

Soldiers inspect damage at scene of the explosion in the mostly Christian neighborhood of Achrafiyeh, Beirut, Lebanon, October 19, 2012. (Jeff Nuemann/VOA)

BEIRUT — A huge car bomb detonated on a residential street in Beirut at Friday rush hour, killing at least eight people including the nation's intelligence chief.

Scores were wounded in the heavy damage of the largely Christian district, many of whose residents support opponents of President Bashar al-Assad in neighboring Syria.

Pan-Arab and Lebanese media reported that Wissam al-Hassan, who was in charge of a top intelligence unit, was killed and likely targeted. He led an investigation into a recent bomb plot that resulted in the arrest of a pro-Syrian Lebanese politician. He also led the probe that implicated Syria and the Hezbollah faction in the killing of former prime minister Rafik Hariri.

No one took immediate responsibility for the blast and Syria condemned the bombing.

from VOANews
by Jeff Neumann
October 19, 2012

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In Syria, Lebanon’s Most Wanted Sunni Terrorist Blows Himself Up

Lebanese terror leader Abdel Ghani Jawhar detonated himself accidentally in Syria, raising questions about the kind of company the rebels are keeping

By Aryn Baker and Rami Aysha/Beirut
from globlaspin

Abdel Ghani Jawhar

When one of Lebanon’s most wanted terrorists kills himself while planting a bomb it is cause for at least some sort of grim celebration. But when the chief bomb-maker of the country’s most notorious terror group self detonates while helping rebels fight in Syria, it is cause for concern.

TIME has learned that Abdel Ghani Jawhar, one of the leaders of the Sunni fundamentalist terror group Fatah al-Islam, died in the Syrian city of Qsair on Friday night. The founding cleric of Fatah al Islam, Sheikh Osama al Shihabi, confirmed Jawhar’s death to TIME with a quote from the Koran: “‘We are for God and to him we return.’ We as Mujahideen are used to being killed and if God wants to give those killed dignity he gives them martyrdom. This is the path of righteousness.”

This is not the first time that Jawhar is thought to have been killed; several previous death announcements have been retracted over the years. News of his death has been relayed by multiple—and unrelated—sources in both Syria and Lebanon. According to a fellow fighter, who goes by the nom de guerre Abu Ali, Jawhar had been preparing an explosive device to be used against the Syrian army, which had been attempting to enter the rebel-dominated town not far from Homs. As Abu Ali narrated the tale over Skype, the sound of bombs and explosions could be heard in the background. Jawhar’s bomb went off prematurely, says Abu Ali. “He was killed directly. We wanted to send his body back to Lebanon but we couldn’t because it was torn into pieces.” Instead Jawhar’s fellow fighters were forced to bury what was left of him in a neighboring garden because it was impossible to reach the graveyard during heavy fighting.

According to Abu Ali and another fellow fighter, Jawhar arrived in Qsair two weeks ago with a group of 30 Lebanese fighters. While many were members of Fatah al-Islam, they were not traveling under the terror group’s banner. Instead they called themselves mujahideen, holy warriors seeking to help fellow Muslims under attack by the Syrian regime. Jawhar, an explosives expert and a charismatic commander, sought to train fellow fighters how make bombs. In the short time he had been in Qsair, says Abu Ali, he was able to set up dozens of improvised explosive devices destined for members of the Syrian security forces. “His aim was to make a tour in all the districts of Syria to teach the fighters on how to fight a guerrilla war.”

For his efforts, Abu Ali calls Jawhar a hero and a martyr. For Syrian rebels seeking international assistance in their battle to force Syrian President Bashar Assad out of office, it’s a public relations headache. The Free Syrian Army, as well as other Syrian resistance groups, has long sought to downplay regime accusations that the rebels are aligned with Islamic fundamentalists and pro-al-Qaeda groups. While Fatah al-Islam has denied any association with al-Qaeda, there are links between the group and individual members. The implication that an al-Qaeda affiliated group is helping Syrian rebels build bombs and foment a guerrilla war could radically alter perceptions in the West, bringing to a halt discussions of arming the rebels and establishing a no-fly zone. “The death of Jawhar on Syrian soil emphasizes the fears of the international community that if they gave weapons to the Syrian rebels they will end up in the hands of radical groups,” says Lebanese University professor and Fatah al-Islam expert Talal Atrissi. “The Syrian opposition will be embarrassed from the fact that such a man is fighting alongside the rebels.”

Read more: http://globalspin.blogs.time.com/2012/04/23/in-syria-lebanons-most-wanted-sunni-terrorist-blows-himself-up/#ixzz1swYdsXXT

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4 wounded in restaurant bomb attack in southern Lebanon

Map of Lebanon from the CIA World Factbook. Tyre is near the southern border (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

TYRE, Lebanon, April 23 (Xinhua) -- Four people were slightly wounded in a bomb explosion that occurred late Sunday night outside a restaurant in Lebanon's southern city of Tyre.

The blast went off shortly after midnight, targeting Nocean Restaurant which is located on the third floor of a three-story commercial building on the eastern outskirts of the city.

Chairs and tables were blown into the street by the force of explosion. Several car windows were shattered and one vehicle was damaged. A few walls inside the building also collapsed.

The wounded included two Lebanese and two Palestinian employees, who were closing the restaurant for the night when the explosion occurred. They had been treated at local hospitals and were later discharged, the sources added.

The building in which Nocean is located also houses businesses and other restaurants, including a McDonald's branch.

Nocean serves alcohol, but security services have yet to determine whether that was the motive for the attack. Nevertheless, the proprietor is convinced that the sale of alcohol is what triggered the bombing.

Security forces cordoned off the area pending the collection of crime scene evidence.

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One killed, 15 wounded in bus shooting on Lebanon-Syria border

BEIRUT, April 7 (Xinhua) -- One Lebanese civilian was killed and 15 others were wounded Saturday when a bus carrying pilgrims on its way to Iraq was attacked by gunmen on the border between Lebanon and Syria.

According to a Lebanese security source, the shooting took place on the Syrian side of Masharih al-Qaa in the Bekaa, after the bus passed through the Jouesiyeh checkpoint, Lebanon's official border crossing in the east, and made its way into Syria.

Lebanon's state-run National News Agency reported that "dozens of the passengers were injured and transferred to hospitals in the region," adding that the gunmen fired on the bus from the Syrian side of the border.

The NNA report did not elaborate any further.
---
Meanwhile, LBC television reported that seven people--six of them Syrian and one Lebanese--were killed in the attack, adding that at least 21 people were wounded.
---
previously:
Syria crisis: Clashes spill over Lebanese border

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Lebanese al Qaeda operative eulogizes Jordanian killed in Afghanistan

A Lebanese al Qaeda fighter recently praised a fellow Jordanian operative who was killed in Afghanistan sometime in 2010. Before his death, the Jordanian had helped several "brothers" enter the Afghan-Pakistan theater to wage jihad.
In an interview published by al Waqa Magazine, Abu Zubaydah al Lubnani recounted his time with Haythem bin Mohammed al Khayat

by Bill Roggio at LWJ

Haythem bin Mohammed al Khayat, a Jordanian better known as Abu Kandahar al Zarqawi. Image from the SITE Intelligence Group.

A Lebanese al Qaeda fighter recently praised a fellow Jordanian operative who was killed in Afghanistan sometime in 2010. Before his death, the Jordanian had helped several "brothers" enter the Afghan-Pakistan theater to wage jihad.
In an interview published by al Waqa Magazine, Abu Zubaydah al Lubnani recounted his time with Haythem bin Mohammed al Khayat, a Jordanian better known as Abu Kandahar al Zarqawi, who was killed by US forces in late 2010 [see LWJ report, Jordanian al Qaeda operative killed in Afghanistan]. Lubnani's interview was translated by the SITE Intelligence Group.
Lubnani said he first met Abu Kandahar on the Paltalk Internet chat forum "through one of the coordinating mediator brothers."
"At the time, I had requested one of the brothers to help me go to fight, and he [Abu Kandahar], may Allah have mercy on him, used to work as a coordinator for the brothers who want to join the mujahideen, especially those on the Khorasan front," Lubnani said. Jihadists often use the term "Khorasan front" to describe Afghanistan and Pakistan's tribal areas and northwest.
In his role as a facilitator for foreign fighters into the Afghan-Pakistan theater, Abu Kandahar helped several al Qaeda operatives wage jihad in the region.
"I and those with me were the first to enjoy the honor of going to fight through Abu Kandahar. I can count more than ten brothers who went to fight through Abu Kandahar," he said.
Lubnani also stated that he "spent with the brother [Abu Kandahar] six consecutive months on the line in South Waziristan," after traveling to the Pakistani tribal agency. In South Waziristan, al Qaeda fighters often shelter with the Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan as well as with Taliban fighters under Mullah Nazir, who calls himself an al Qaeda leader.
Before his death, Abu Kandahar was a member of a network of foreign al Qaeda operatives that included Abu Dujanah al Khurasani, the suicide bomber who carried out the attack at Combat Outpost Chapman in Khost province on Dec. 30, 2009 that killed seven CIA operatives and a Jordanian intelligence officer. Khurasani lulled the CIA officers into a false sense of security by claiming to have intelligence that would lead them to Ayman al Zawahiri, who at that time was al Qaeda's second in command.
Other members of the network included Abu Abdulrahman al Qahtani, a veteran jihadist from Yemen; Ghazwan al Yemeni, a top operative in al Qaeda's external operations network who aided in the attack at Combat Outpost Chapman; and Abu Dujanah al Sanaani, a Yemeni and an Internet jihadist who is known to have operated the Al Balagh Media Center and to have interviewed Siraj Haqqani. Qahtani, Ghazwan, and Sanaani were killed in fighting and Predator strikes along the Afghan-Pakistani border during the fall of 2010.

Read more: http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2011/12/lebanese_al_qaeda_op.php#ixzz1hjKOUxIa

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Hezbollah release CIA agents identities in Lebanon

Tuesday, December 13, 2011 – Hezbollah militant group on Monday claimed to release identities of CIA officers working undercover in Lebanon.

The identities of the CIA agents were made public in a broadcast Friday night on a Lebanese television station, al-Manar.

The exposure creates new security risks for CIA officers in a country where American espionage operations had already been damaged by Hezbollah’s capture of a group of agency-paid informants.

Hezbollah MP Nawwaf Moussawi quoted by Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation International LBCI said, “There are currently open meetings held by American intelligence agents in Lebanon in restaurants and nightclubs in Dbayyeh and Jounieh,”

Mr. Moussawi further added, among the agents are a doctor, a researcher and a journalist, and asked them to surrender to the Lebanese security services or to the resistance’s security apparatus.

A CIA spokeswoman said the agency would not comment on “spurious claims”.

CIA spokeswoman Jennifer Youngblood said, I think it’s worth remembering that Hezbollah is a dangerous organization, with al-Manar as its propaganda arm. That fact alone should cast some doubt on the credibility of the group’s claims.”

This comes as Hezbollah leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah earlier this year said, at least two of his group’s members had confessed to spying for the American intelligence agency but the claim by Hezbollah was denied by CIA.

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Bomb wounds French U.N. peacekeepers in South Lebanon

( Mohammed Zaatari / Associated Press ) - United Nations and emergency personnel gather

at the site of a roadside bomb attack on a U.N. peacekeepers’ vehicle in Bourj al-Shamali,

near the port city of Tyre, Lebanon, Friday, Dec. 9, 2011.

(Reuters) - A roadside bomb wounded five French peacekeepers in southern Lebanon on Friday, in the third attack this year on United Nations forces deployed near the frontier with Israel.
The blast hit a jeep carrying French UNIFIL troops on the outskirts of the Mediterranean port city of Tyre.

"I can confirm that a UNIFIL vehicle was hit by an explosion in Tyre," UNIFIL spokesman Andrea Tenenti said. "Five peacekeepers were injured."

The attack follows bombings in May and July against French and Italian peacekeepers and comes as the United Nations prepares a review of its 12,000-strong operation, which was beefed up after Israel's 34-day war with Hezbollah in 2006.

A Reuters reporter saw a jeep with its windows blown out and several wounded peacekeepers at the scene minutes after the explosion in the Burj al-Shamali district on the eastern edge of Tyre.

Most of the injuries were light but medical sources said one of the UNIFIL soldiers was badly wounded.
Security sources said two passersby were also hurt.

from Reuters 

By Hussein Saad

TYRE, Lebanon | Fri Dec 9, 2011 7:11am EST

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Hezbollah chief makes a rare public address in Lebanon

 

Tuesday, December 06, 2011

Sheikh Hassan Nasrullah Leader of the Hezbollah Shia Muslim political movement on the occassion of Ashura on Tuesday made a rare public appearance in Beirut afer several years.

He has rarely been seen in public since Hezbollah’s war with Israel in 2006, and was normally speaking to his supporters via video-linke.

The 34-day conflict left more than 1,200 Lebanese dead, most of them civilians. Some 160 Israelis, most of whom were soldiers, were also killed.

Sheik Hassan Nasrallah said Hezbollah was “here to stay” and would never compromise on its weapons.

He also offered his support to the Syrian government and accused the United States of plotting to destroy Syria.

He accused some in the Syrian opposition of catering to U.S. agendas in Syria and the region, and called on protesters to realize that they were being “used” for the wider aim of striking at Assad’s regime for its support for Hezbollah and other anti-Israel groups in the region.

Ashoura is one of the holiest days of the Muslim Shiite calendar. It marks the anniversary of the death in the seventh century of the Prophet Muhammad’s grandson Imam Hussein. His death in a battle outside of the Iraqi city of Karbala sealed Islam’s historical Sunni-Shiite split, which still bedevils the Middle East.

Nasrullah said, “We are growing in numbers, our training is getting better and our weapons are increasing. And for those who are betting that our weapons are rusting, we say that our weapons are being renewed.”

His public appearance, he said, was a message to those who believe they can “threaten us,” he added, as many in the crowds shouted “Death to America” and “Death to Israel.”

Meanwhile, the Syrian opposition leader said Hezbollah’s decision to side with President Bashar Assad in his eight-month crackdown on Syrian protesters has shown the resistance’s group real face.

Head of the Syrian National Council Burhan Ghalioun said, reconsidering Syria’s strategy with Iran and putting an end to arms supplies to Hezbollah are among the Syrian opposition’s demands.

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