Terrorist threat: MP Baarini suspects 'plan to justify keeping Hezbollah's weapons'

Akkar MP Walid Baarini on Wednesday suspected a possible "plan to justify keeping weapons in the hands of Hezbollah" amid fears of renewed activity by the jihadist organization Islamic State (IS) in Lebanon.

"What is being said about the entry of foreign groups into Lebanon is an exaggeration," said Baarini, a leading figure in the centrist parliamentary bloc National Moderation, composed mainly of Sunni MPs, on Sawt Kel Lebnen radio station (Voice of All Lebanon). This "exaggeration" could hide, according to him, "a plan to justify keeping weapons in the hands of Hezbollah under the pretext of countering terrorism."

On Monday, seven people were arrested by General Security on suspicion of links to "terrorist groups." A security source told L'Orient-Le Jour that the information circulating about the arrest of an IS "cell" in the southern suburbs of Beirut was "exaggerated" and called for not spreading speculations that could "disrupt the course of the investigation."

Some claims, including those from the Hezbollah-affiliated channel Al-Manar, suggested that the detained individuals had "direct ties with Daesh," and even with "the Israeli Mossad intelligence services" due to a "suspicious app" found on their mobile phones.

In November 2015, an IS suicide bombing killed 44 people in the southern suburbs of Beirut as retaliation for Hezbollah's support for the Syrian regime of Bashar al-Assad.

Menace terroriste : le député Baarini soupçonne un « plan pour justifier le maintien des armes du Hezbollah »