Lebanon's General Security Directorate has successfully thwarted an "Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant" (ISIL) terror plot targeting central Beirut, Al-Akhbar daily reported Tuesday (February 7th).
The group had managed to infiltrate a real estate company and recruit one of its employees, a Sidon native who was responsible for follow-up on the company's surveillance cameras in central Beirut, the newspaper said.
The man had been tasked by ISIL to set a list of targets, and collect information about local political figures, economic and tourist sites, including information about the residence of Prime Minister Saad Hariri, who lives in the area.
Lebanese forces arrested the suspect on January 10th after exposing him, judicial sources said.
He confessed he had been recruited by a man in Ain el-Hilweh refugee camp.
"The General Security carried out a pre-emptive operation and was able to foil a terror attack. The detainees were referred to the military justice more than 10 days ago," Interior Minister Nohad al-Mashnouq told Al-Akhbar.
