Lebanese security forces catch senior ISIL commander in Arsal

The Lebanese army arrested senior ISIL terrorist, Ahmad Mohammad Ammoun, during an operation in the border city of Arsal, media and military sources confirmed.

Ammoun, nom de guerre “Breiss” and “Ahmad Fattoum”, is one of the most dangerous terrorists wanted by the Lebanese and the Syrian armies, sources on the ground said.

He had joined the Takfiri terrorists since the beginning of the Syrian crisis in 2011. He transferred arms, ammunition as well as militants to Qussayr in Syria, the sources said, adding that he took part in several attacks against the Syrian army.

Ammoun, 26, also fought alongside al-Farouq brigades, which was part of the “Free Syrian Army”, as he was one of the group's top military commanders in Syria.

Ammoun also recruited several suicide bombers as he planned for several terrorist attacks in Lebanon, including the bombings which rocked Beirut’s southern suburb area of Dahiyeh and Hermel.

The sources noted that he was responsible for smuggling booby-trapped cars from Qalamoun to Lebanon as he knew the geographical nature of the area.

After the ISIL proclaimed its self-styled “caliphate”, Ammoun pledged allegiance to ISIL and formed a militants group of 20 terrorists.

The sources told local Lebanese media that the terrorists took part in several ambushes against the Lebanese army, noting that he was one of the terrorists who attacked the army posts and abducted several servicemen during the battle of Arsal in 2014.

Ammoun is considered as the Lebanese army’s catch, the sources stress, saying that he was appointed as ISIL’s security official in Arsal and that he escaped a Lebanese army raid in Wadi al-Aranib earlier.

EA