Lebanese army arrests ISIL leader in Arsal

The Lebanese army recently arrested a prominent "Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant" (ISIL) leader in the restive north-eastern border town of Arsal in the Bekaa Valley.

Malek Mahmoud Sultan, known as Malek el-Breidy, was apprehended for his involvement in terror attacks in Beirut and Arsal in recent years, according to a May 24th statement by the army's guidance directorate.

El-Breidy "was apprehended in the Arsal region for his involvement ... in terror attacks on army positions and the transport of weapons to terrorists in the region’s barren areas", the statement said.

The charges include the commission of robberies at gunpoint and assaults on citizens, it said.

The army also arrested in the same operation el-Breidy's aide, Syrian Omar Mahmoud Othman, who was wanted for being a member of a terrorist group, and Mohammed al-Hujairi, known as Kahroub, for their involvement in the aforementioned crimes.

The operation comes less than a month after a security operation in Arsal led to the killing of ISIL's "emir of Arsal" Fayez al-Shaalan, a Syrian known as Abu al-Fawz, and his bodyguard, Ahmed Mrouweh.

The April 28th army raid also resulted in the arrest of Syrian ISIL operative Mohammed Mustafa Mousalli, known as Abu Malham.

'Logistics handler' for ISIL

El-Breidy, a native of Arsal, was involved in "handling the logistics for terror operations carried out for the benefit of ISIL, including the Bir al-Abed bombing in the southern suburb of Beirut in July 2013", the army’s guidance directorate told Al-Shorfa.

He was in direct contact with the person who parked the explosive-rigged car that day, the army said in a statement, adding that el-Breidy grew up in the southern suburbs of Beirut where he worked as a bus driver until he moved back to Arsal in 2012 under the pretext of working there.

El-Breidy first joined the ranks of al-Qaeda affiliate al-Nusra Front (ANF) before pledging allegiance to ISIL at the beginning of 2013, the statement said.

"After serving as the logistics handler of ISIL-affiliated cells, particularly those that targeted the southern suburbs, he was recently assigned logistical tasks in Arsal related to the handling and movement of militants from and to the barren outskirts [of the town]," the statement said.

The latest arrest comes as part of the army's efforts to "fight terrorism and hunt down and pursue [terrorists] wherever they are in Lebanon", it said.

Enhanced security measures

"The raids and actions carried out by the army against terrorists serve Arsal and its people, and are proof that the town is under the control of the army," said Arsal mayor Bassel al-Hujairi.

The army stepped up its security measures some time ago and has posts at the entrances and on the perimeter of the town, he told Al-Shorfa, adding that the army conducts daily patrols in Arsal’s neighbourhoods and in areas around the refugee camps.

"When information on a suspect becomes available, elements of the army carry out sting operations, such as the one that resulted in the arrest of el-Breidy," he said.

"The security measures and terrorist arrests are positive and important developments for Arsal, its environs and outskirts," he said. They are "a testament to [the army's] high level of readiness".

Middle East Centre for Strategic Studies head Brig. Gen. Hisham Jaber, a retired Lebanese army officer who is an expert on extremist groups, described the army’s actions in Arsal as "good and needed".

The army's security measures in the field enable it to respond to ISIL and other armed groups at any time thanks to its advanced surveillance equipment, arms and personnel, he told Al-Shorfa.

"The army is repelling attacks by ISIL, and this has greatly deterred and limited the group's movements in Arsal, where it has hotbeds of gunmen and cells," Jaber said.