Lebanese security forces conduct series of anti-terrorism maneuvers
The head of the Internal Security Forces (ISF) Major General Ashraf Rifi stressed on Wednesday that Lebanese security forces should pursue the highest degrees of training so as to reach the top levels of professionalism and successfully accomplish the missions delegated to them.
Addressing members of the security forces on the occasion of a visit by the heads of Arab security training institutions to Lebanon, Rifi emphasized the importance of preserving the lives of civilians and policemen alike during any operations.
The series of maneuvers carried out by security forces at the ISF headquarters in Dbayeh, north of Beirut, was attended by delegations from the Syrian, Saudi, and Egyptian, Jordanian, Algerian, Sudanese, Moroccan and Palestinian training institutions.
Lebanese riot policemen as well as members of the Leopards Special Forces performed combat maneuvers showing their skills during exercises at the ISF headquarters.
Members of the Leopards Special Forces’ unit simulated a raid on a bus during training exercises in anti-terrorism and riot maneuvers as the attendants applauded their competence.
Dozens of Lebanese and other Arab nationals, including Al-Qaeda inspired militants, have been imprisoned in Lebanon in recent years on charges of carrying out or planning terror attacks.
The Internal Security Forces is the national police and security force of Lebanon. Law number 17, of September 6, 1990, defines the ISF as public armed forces whose jurisdiction covers the entire Lebanese territory and the territorial waters and air.
According to Article 2 of the same law, the ISF is subject to the authority of the interior minister and to the military laws and rules with the exclusion of the exception defined by other laws and rules.
ISF agents are subject to the general obligations of the civil servants, and to the sanctions and sanction aggravations, stipulated in the law and applied if they commit an offense while in service.