Lebanon said Monday (June 17th) it had arrested a Syrian suspected of links to the "Islamic State of Iraq and Syria" (ISIS) who was plotting attacks on religious sites in the south of the country, AFP reported.
The Internal Security Forces (ISF) said they "tracked down and identified a man in southern Lebanon who actively publishes ISIS propaganda on social media networks and recruits new members" for the group.
The suspect, a 20-year-old Syrian national who resides in the south Lebanon village of Yater, was in contact with people abroad who helped him set up social networking sites to disseminate ISIS propaganda, it said in a statement.
He also used the sites to discuss plans to carry out ISIS attacks on churches -- inspired by the deadly Easter bombings in Sri Lanka -- and Shia religious centres, it added.
According to the ISF, the suspect had shared an ISIS video published in April purporting to show the group's supremo Abu Bakr al Baghdadi hailing the Sri Lanka bombings.
He also downloaded a manual compiled by followers of the group instructing readers on how to build explosives, the statement added.
He is believed to have spray painted ISIS slogans on walls in the Yater village.
The ISIS suspect is also accused of recruiting a second Syrian, 29, who was arrested by the ISF while he was still in "training", the statement said.
