Lebanon says it has arrested Daesh commander

Lebanese Army officials speak during a news conference at the Ministry of Defense office in Beirut on August 19, 2017, about the army's operation against the Daesh group close to the Syrian border. Lebanon on Thursday said it had arrested the Daesh commander in the area. (AFP / ANWAR AMRO)

BEIRUT: Lebanese authorities detained and interrogated a suspected Daesh commander and referred his case to a special court, Lebanon’s state news agency NNA reported on Thursday.
Security forces arrested the man in Arsal, a town in northeastern Lebanon near the enclave Daesh held until a Lebanese army offensive pushed them from it last week.
During interrogation the man confessed to participation in several attacks in Lebanon as well as recruitment, smuggling, kidnapping, arms procurement and financing Daesh operations, NNA reported.
Also on Thursday, a military investigative judge charged 39 individuals of Syrian, Palestinian and Lebanese nationalities with belonging to and promoting the ideology of Islamic State.
Daesh has carried out several attacks in Lebanon in recent years, including a series of suicide bombings in the small town of Al-Qaa in the Bekaa valley a year ago.