Lebanese judge charges 26 over Beirut attacks

Suspects accused of belonging to Islamic State cell that carried out twin suicide bombings killing 44 in city’s south

By ToI Staff 26 November 2015, 1:23 pm

Edit

Emergency personnel gather at the site of a twin suicide bombing in Burj al-Barajneh, in the southern suburbs of the capital Beirut on November 12, 2015 (AFP PHOTO/ANWAR AMRO)

A Lebanese military prosecutor charged 26 Lebanese and Syrian nationals on Wednesday with membership in the Islamic State group and involvement in the twin bombings that killed 44 people earlier this month in southern Beirut, Reuters reported.

Of the individuals charged, 23 were suspected of being directly linked to the attacks, and the three others were said to be linked to the network.

Another Reuters report on Thursday quoted the Hezbollah-run al-Manar channel as saying that a joint Syrian army-Hezbollah operation in Syria killed a person involved in carrying out the attacks.

Islamic State claimed responsibility for the November 12 suicide attacks, which took place in a southern Beirut stronghold of the Shiite Hezbollah movement.

Reuters quoted Lebanese security sources as saying that they have arrested a number of suspects without direct links to the attacks, and seized large quantities of explosives.

A statement from IS taking responsibility for the attacks called Shiite Muslims “apostates” and vowed that the organization “will not rest until we take revenge in the name of the Prophet (Muhammad).”

The Lebanese Sunni and Shiite communities have lined up on opposing side of Syria’s civil war — Sunnis broadly support the Sunni rebels fighting against President Bashar Assad while the Shiites typically back Assad. Lebanon hosts more than 1.1 million Syrian refugees — equivalent to a quarter of the country’s entire population.

AP contributed to this report.