Lebanese Army says it foiled twin Islamic State terror plots

BEIRUT — The Lebanese army said Thursday it had foiled attacks planned by the Islamic State jihadist group on a tourist site and a crowded area, arresting five “terrorists.”

The famed Casino du Liban was among the targets, a military official told AFP.

“Military intelligence services have foiled two terrorist operations prepared by Daesh that would have targeted an important tourism site and a crowded area,” the army said in a statement, using an Arabic name for IS.

It was not clear when the arrests took place, but the military official said the attacks were to have been carried out “10 days ago.”

They would have targeted “the Casino du Liban as well as a crowded area, like a shopping center, the southern suburbs of Beirut or indeed the (downtown) neighborhoods of Hamra or Ashrafiyeh,” the official said.

The five arrested included the alleged mastermind of the attacks, the army said.

“They admitted having previously carried out terrorist attacks against the army,” it said.

Lebanon has been repeatedly shaken by attacks linked with the war in neighboring Syria, where Lebanese Shiite militia Hezbollah is fighting in support of President Bashar Assad.

On Monday, five people were killed when four suicide bombers attacked a predominantly Christian village near the border with Syria.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for Monday’s attacks but they bore the hallmarks of jihadist organizations like IS or al-Qaeda.