Syria TV Airs Images of Dead Lebanese Salafists: Not The Only Ones

Local Editor

The Lebanese Army revealed Sunday that shots were fired at 6:30 p.m. at its headquarters in Masharih al-Qaa by "gunmen from the Syrian side of the border, prompting soldiers to respond."

As the LA stated that there were no casualties, it stressed it's boosting its presence in the area.
Meanwhile, intense gunfire was heard Sunday night in Nahr Abu Ali, which overlooks Bab al-Tabbaneh and Jabal Mohsen.
Earlier in the day, Syrian state television broadcasted images of dead bodies for Lebanese extremist fighters who fell into the Syrian Army's ambush Friday.

In its Monday edition, al-Akhbar Lebanese daily mentioned that the Salafist group fighters were killed in Tal Sireen in their way to the Syrian town of Tal Kalakh, and that others in the group had been wounded.
The daily's sources said that the men planned to take a smugglers' route from the Lebanese village of Hleit to Qalaat al-Hosn in Syria after dawn prayers Friday. The group fell into an ambush in Tal Sireen, on the way to Qalaat al-Hasan.

They elaborated that "the young men, ranging in age from 18 to 25, went to Syria at the request of Kh. M., of Fatah al-Islam leaders."
"The leader was released recently and he moved to Syria to fight alongside the opposition," they clarified, and noted that "he established what looks like an "Islamic" emirate in the area located near the city of Homs."
According to these sources, people close to Kh.M previously organized groups to be sent to Syria, based on his so-called call to "Jihad".
"Several individuals were sent for this purpose, before they send such a large number of young men at once," the daily learned.

In parallel, a remarkable position emerged from the family of Khodar Alam Dein, who was killed in the ambush.
In this context, Alam Dein's father accused "the misleading extremist groups, scattered in the North, of his son's blood."
The man who knew nothing of his son's plans, demanded accountability for those who tampered with the mind of his son and his friends.
"If my son wanted to fight the "Israelis", I would have sent him myself. But to take him to participate in a conspiracy against our countries, it is not permissible," the father confirmed.

Moreover, al-Akhbar reported that a battalion known as "al-Wadi [Valley] battalion consists of hundreds of fighters, mostly Lebanese."
"This armed group is led by a Syrian defector officer known as Abdul Salam H., who has good relations with a Northern Lebanese MP in terms of funding, coordination and receiving the arrivals," the daily reported.

However, according to well-informed sources, the issue of entry and exit of fighters was, and is still the responsibility of a man, who belongs to al-Hujairi family, known as the Sheikh Abu Taia [hat].
"There are several Lebanese groups that infiltare into Syria periodically," they revealed, and noted that "among the most prominent people who recently joined the Syrian rebels are the detainees who escaped from Roumieh prison last August."
Similarly, al-Akhbar unveiled that "Shadi al-Mawlawi, the young man who was stopped by the Security Forces a few months ago, and then released under the pressure of Tripoli's militants is among the Lebanese fighters in Syria."


Source: al-Akhbar daily, Translated and Edited by moqawama.org