Lebanon recaptures escapes Islamist militant
The Lebanese army recaptured an Islamist militant on Wednesday, a day after he escaped from the country”s largest prison, a security official said.
"We captured Taha Ahmad Haji Sleiman on Wednesday morning in the woods in Bsalim," a town near Rumieh prison northeast of Beirut, he said.
Sleiman, a dual Syrian and Palestinian national, is charged with belonging to a "terrorist network," the Al-Qaeda inspired Fatah al-Islam militia which fought deadly battles with the army in 2007.
He is also charged with bank robbery and inciting violence in the Beddawi refugee camp in northern Lebanon.
Tuesday”s incident, in which seven other inmates failed in their escape bid, prompted Interior Minister Ziad to order the arrest of several prison officials after a probe found "deficiencies that might have facilitated the escape."
The minister also ordered that 360 internal security forces officers be sacked from their jobs at the country”s 21 prisons after saying he had received "numerous complaints on transgressions and incompetence within prisons."