Lebanon police raid supporters of arrested hard-line cleric

16 August 2015, 8:23 pm

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Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency says security forces have conducted several raids near the coastal southern city of Sidon in search of suspects following the arrest of a hard-line Sunni cleric.

NNA says security forces are acting quickly Sunday following the arrest of Sheikh Ahmad al-Assir, so that his supporters won’t be able to escape.

FILE - In this March 4, 2011, file photo, Sheikh Ahmad al-Assir, a Lebanese anti-Syrian regime leader, addresses his supporters during a demonstration against Syrian President Bashar Assad at the Martyrs square in Beirut, Lebanon. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla,File) — Sheikh Ahmad al-Assir, a Lebanese anti-Syrian regime leader, addresses supporters during a demonstration against Syrian President Bashar Assad in Beirut, Lebanon, March 4, 2011. (AP/Hussein Malla, File)

Al-Assir was detained at Beirut’s Rafik Hariri International Airport on Saturday as he was trying to flee the country in a disguise and using a forged passport.

Local TV stations reported that authorities collected DNA samples from al-Assir’s parents to help confirm his identity.

Al-Assir, a firebrand anti-Hezbollah cleric, had been on the run since June 2013 after his armed supporters clashed with the Lebanese army in Sidon.

— AP