Five people have been arrested in connection with a network operating across Lebanese and Syrian borders that was recruiting fighters and conducting military training.
Lebanese security authorities have dismantled a network operating between Lebanon and Syria that authorities say is connected to Hezbollah and remnants of the former Syrian regime. Five people, three Syrians and two Lebanese nationals, have been arrested on suspicion of running the operation.
The detained individuals hold Lebanese and Syrian citizenship. Among them is retired Syrian Colonel Manaf Ali Saffi, who previously held a security position in the former Syrian regime.
According to security sources, the network has been moving fighters from Syria into Lebanon across the northern border, then transporting them to the southern suburbs of Beirut and on to a training camp in the Bekaa valley region of Baalbek-Hermel.
Weapons and ammunition seized from the network include hand grenades, assault rifles, sniper rifles and explosives. The type and quantity of arms has raised concerns about the intended purpose of the group beyond military training.
Initial investigations indicate that those arrested confessed to undergoing training led by Hezbollah operatives and cadres under the command of a figure known as Hajj Alaa, according to security sources.
The network operates under the direction of retired Syrian Major General Muhammad Jaber, who previously commanded the Syrian Desert Legion in the former Syrian army. Jaber is currently in Moscow and was known to be close to former Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, the sources said.
The detainees claimed the stated purpose of the training was preparation to counter a potential attack by current Syrian forces on Lebanon's Bekaa region.
Security sources said preliminary information indicates a broader network exists inside Syrian territory comprising more than fifty members of the former regime involved in arranging the entry of fighters from Syria to Lebanon and monitoring movements of current Syrian forces inside Syria.
Three people linked to Hezbollah are suspected of involvement in bringing fighters into Lebanon and overseeing their training. Other names are still being verified for their roles.
Security sources assess that the network's mission extends beyond military preparation to include potential plans to create security chaos inside Lebanon, carry out assassinations, and conduct operations in the Syrian coastal region, based on the types of weapons seized.
A Lebanese state security apparatus member who works as an aide to a Christian parliamentary bloc leader was arrested early Wednesday after disappearing for more than a week. The individual is the brother of one of the detained network members and is suspected of moving and hiding weapons that were concealed in the village of Tallbaireh in Akkar near the Syrian border.
Tallbaireh serves as a gathering point for fighters arriving from Syrian territory before being transported to Beirut's southern suburbs, establishing organized routes for moving people and weapons across the border.
Lebanese security agencies continue gathering information to map the full structure of the network, identify all those involved, and determine whether the group operates additional cells in Lebanon or Syria.
