Fatah al-Islam Terrorist arrested in Tripoli

Lebanese troops on Friday detained a suspected militant of an Islamist group that waged a 15-week battle against the military last year in northern Lebanon, a military official said.

 

Othman Turkmani, believed to be a member of the extremist Fatah al-Islam, was detained in an army ambush on a street in the Bab el-Ramel neighborhood of the northern city of Tripoli, the official told AFP.

 

Turkmani was not armed at the time of his detention, he said.

 

It was the third detention of extremist militants in northern Lebanon in two days.

 

On Thursday, two Fatah al-Islam terrorists were seized in separate incidents, including high-ranking militant

Nabil Rahim who, security sources said, is known to have links with the al-Qaida terror network.

Rahim”s wife was also detained.

 

The arrests come days after a man purporting to be Shaker al-Abssi, leader of the militant group, threatened renewed attacks against the Lebanese army.

 

Almost 400 people were killed, including some 222 militants and 168 troops, in the fighting between the army and Fatah al-Islam which ended after a final assault by the military on September 2.

 

Abssi”s fate was unknown after the fighting ended although the Lebanese judiciary issued a warrant for his arrest and that of several dozen other fugitive militants in October last year.