“In the context of the preemptive operations carried out by the Army units in different areas of Lebanon, the Directorate of Intelligence arrested in the town of Arsal ISIL’s senior Syrian Commander Bassel Mohammed Abdel-Qader ,nom de guerre Abu Anas al-Sahli, the army statement said on Thursday.
Abdel-Qader is one of the most prominent leaders of the terrorists of ISIL which had prevailed over the Arsal’s mountains.
During his interrogation, he admitted to participating in the attack on the Lebanese Army posts in Wadi al-Hosn on August 2, 2014. He also formed a terrorist cell that fired several missiles at several towns in the Beqaa, and equipped the cell with a number of booby-trapped cars, some of which have exploded in Lebanon.
The apprehended terrorist also admitted to having recruited and trafficked people for the terrorist group, securing financial support for it, kidnapping Lebanese and Syrians in return for ransom and buying weapons and ammunition.
The detainee was referred to the competent court.
Relevant reports said on Tuesday that the Syrian Army troops and the Lebanese Hezbollah fighters ended their military operation at Syria-Lebanon border region after hundreds of ISIL terrorists were evacuated from Western Qalamoun and the pro-government forces fortified their positions in the mountainous region.
The sources said that 637 people, including 350 terrorists and their family members, left Western Qalamoun by 16 buses and 11 ambulances via al-Sheikh Ali-al-Roumi’yat passageway for the town of Albu Kamal in Southeastern Deir Ezzur within the framework of an evacuation agreement with the resistance forces.
They added that the army and Hezbollah fighters fortified their positions in Halimeh Qareh strategic heights in Western Qalamoun and cleaned the entire battlefield that covers an 310sq/km area after the ISIL left the region.
The sources went on to say that the heights of al-Qa’a, Jaroud Ra’as Ba’albak and the remaining part of Arsal and the entire occupied territories that covers a 140sq/km area in Lebanese part of the mountainous border region have been liberated and sustainable security has been restored to the Lebanese borders.