ISIS arrived in Lebanon, a swath of death and destruction in its wake. Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi’s Sunni Muslim caliphate battled with the Lebanese Army for the north-eastern Sunni town of Arsal on the Syrian border. Hezbollah, the Shiite terrorist organization that has made Lebanon its home, had not engaged ISIS. Instead, taking a step back and giving the Lebanese Army only logistical help. However, there is less than 7 miles between Arsal and Labweh, a bastion of support for Hezbollah, a red line for Hezbollah.
ISIS made a statement going into Lebanon; the closest they had been to the Mediterranean seeking their caliphate of the Arab world and beyond: “that the time had come to implement its plan and announce a vast Islamic emirate, imposing its emirs while sabotaging the Arab world and pushing it into the furnace of ignorance and backwardness in the name of Islam…”
Then they left. After 4 days of fierce battle, a truce. I wasn’t aware that the Islamic extremists could be negotiated with, could this be a ruse?
ISIS had captured 13 Lebanese soldiers during the battle and 17 civilians. The Lebanese Army had arrested Imad Jomaa a Syrian national who had recently pledged allegiance to ISIS. And the, enter the “Committee of Muslim Scholars”
From the Lebanon Daily Star.
ARSAL, Lebanon: The conflagration in Arsal appeared close to a conclusion Wednesday as militants began their withdrawal under a cease-fire agreement with the Lebanese Army that came after a four-day siege aimed at liberating the northeastern border town.
Fighters who pledge allegiance to the Islamic State of Iraq and Greater Syria, an Al-Qaeda splinter group, agreed to leave Arsal and head back into the mountainous outskirts near the Syrian frontier by 7 p.m. Thursday, in a deal brokered by mediators from the Committee of Muslim Scholars, a security source told The Daily Star.
The Lebanese Army proved to be quite the force to be reckoned with as they tightened the noose on the ISIS militants who launched the surprise-coordinated attack last Saturday. Couple this with the Committee of Muslim Scholars and a pledge from Saudi Arabia for $1 billion to improve the capabilities of the Lebanese military in the battle against terrorism.
Syria, Iran, and Russia expressed support for Lebanon as well; Russia going so far as to provide military assistance. US Ambassador David Hale tweeted the following support for Lebanon on the condition of their continued disassociation (insulating the country from regional turmoil).
According to the embassy’s Twitter feed, Hale also said that his country’s assistance program to the Lebanese military was “longstanding, ongoing and is helping the Army to meet its challenges.”
“US is committed to further efforts to build up the capabilities of Lebanon’s security forces to counter terrorism [and] address other challenges,” he said.
“ Lebanon can count on continued #American support for the @LebaneseArmy #partnership.”
I don’t trust ISIS. As much as I have read about these barbarians, running for the hills into the mountains does not ring true. They’ve only released 3 hostages of 27 they had captured. Something else is brewing. They may have engaged Lebanon to gauge their capabilities,and to see what action Hezbollah would take, if any. ISIS is Sunni, Hezbollah is Shiite – bad blood – but they both want to see the destruction of Israel and Hezbollah has tunnels into Israel.
Long live Israel.
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