Members of a “terrorist cell” arrested in Beirut were plotting a day of attacks on the Shiite community in the Lebanese capital during Ashura religious events this weekend, security sources told The National.
The officials, involved in the investigations, said on Tuesday that the six-member cell, mostly Syrians, belonged to an unidentified extremist group that “may be” linked to ISIS.
The arrests come at a critical time for Lebanon, which is under pressure from the US to include Hezbollah’s disarmament in its official government agenda as soon as possible, Lebanese political sources claimed.
They told The National that Washington is also seeking to link the future of Lebanon and Syria’s relations with Israel, pushing for a form of truce that would fall short of full normalisation, something that could be pursued in the near future.
Lebanon's General Security Directorate first announced the arrests on Monday, saying it had detained a terrorist cell in Beirut that sought to carry out attacks in several areas in the Lebanese capital.
It said that the cell was linked to extremist organisations and planned to launch synchronised attacks. The members had been monitored for several weeks.
“They planned to strike Ashura gatherings across multiple sites in Beirut, aiming to trigger a national shock similar to the one caused by Israel’s pager attacks on Hezbollah and the Shiite community last year,” one security official said on Tuesday.
“They were planning to attack large gatherings of Shiites during Ashura this weekend,” another security source confirmed. “This is terrifying. Lebanon is highly exposed in terms of security and entering a dangerous phase,” claimed the source.
Israel confirmed last year that it carried out the pager and walkie-talkie attacks in Lebanon in September. The simultaneous explosions represented a massive escalation in the conflict with the Lebanese militant group that had been continuing since the Hamas-led attacks on southern Israel on October 7, 2023.
For Shiite Muslims, Ashura marks the anniversary of the martyrdom of Imam Hussein bin Ali, the Prophet Mohammed's grandson, along with his family members and loyalists.
Lebanon, a multi-faith country, has previously experienced attacks during religious events by extremist groups and armed militias.
Some political observers suggested that while the reported “terrorist activities” are real, the timing of the announcements may be tied to efforts by certain Lebanese parties to delay the contentious issue of Hezbollah’s disarmament, arguing that the current security climate makes it an inopportune moment.
More arrests expected
On Monday, before the arrests' announcement, a security official in Beirut told The National that Lebanon feared possible attacks by extremist groups following the deadly bombing in neighbouring Syria, where a suicide bomber killed at least 25 people at a Damascus church last month. Syrian authorities blamed ISIS for the attack.
The Lebanese army announced last week the arrest of the suspected leader of ISIS in Lebanon, accusing him of planning attacks.
The man, identified as RF and also known by the alias Qasoura, was captured after a series of surveillance and intelligence efforts by the military’s Intelligence Directorate. Weapons, ammunition and drone-making equipment were seized during the raid, the army said.
“He was educated, a schoolteacher of chemistry with experience in telecommunications and surveillance,” a security source told The National.
The army described him as a “prominent leader of the terrorist organisation Daesh” and said he had assumed control of the group’s Lebanon branch following the arrests of several senior figures in December, including his predecessor, known as Abu Saeed Al Shami.
According to the security sources, the man's arrest led to the foiling of the cell's plot.
“All of Lebanon’s security branches are now focused on this case, and more arrests are expected soon,” another security source said.
Authorities fear that dormant ISIS and other extremist cells in Lebanon could now be activated in retaliation or as part of a wider plan to destabilise the country amid renewed instability in neighbouring Syria.
Although largely driven underground after a major military defeat in 2017, ISIS and other extremist groups have fought bloody battles with the Lebanese army in the past and carried out bombings against Hezbollah and its supporters.
Now, with Syria’s political landscape shifting after the collapse of the Assad regime last year, Lebanese officials warn that the threat is far from over.
Afcon 2019
SEMI-FINALS
Senegal v Tunisia, 8pm
Algeria v Nigeria, 11pm
Matches are live on BeIN Sports
Scoreline
Bournemouth 2
Wilson 70', Ibe 74'
Arsenal 1
Bellerin 52'
Scoreline
Al Wasl 1 (Caio Canedo 90 1')
Al Ain 2 (Ismail Ahmed 3', Marcus Berg 50')
Red cards: Ismail Ahmed (Al Ain) 77'
AWARDS
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The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
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VEZEETA PROFILE
Date started: 2012
Founder: Amir Barsoum
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: HealthTech / MedTech
Size: 300 employees
Funding: $22.6 million (as of September 2018)
Investors: Technology Development Fund, Silicon Badia, Beco Capital, Vostok New Ventures, Endeavour Catalyst, Crescent Enterprises’ CE-Ventures, Saudi Technology Ventures and IFC
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
The Specs
Price, base Dh379,000
Engine 2.9-litre, twin-turbo V6
Gearbox eight-speed automatic
Power 503bhp
Torque 443Nm
On sale now
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Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
