Lebanon forces purge against IS-linked inmates in major prison

Lebanese Security forces completed a plan Monday to restore full control of Roumieh prison's block B taken over by Islamist prisoners, said Interior Minister Nouhad Mashnouk.

According to the National News Agency (NNA), the Islamist prisoners who were in block B were transferred to block D.

There are around 190 Fatah al-Islam prisoners at the notorious prison's block B, known as a virtual no-go zone for security forces, where inmates have access to laptops, phones and money.

In a press conference held at the prison, Mashnouk said after personally overseeing the attainment of the plan "following a 9-hour operation, we achieved a novel victory for the state. This victory ended the myth known as Roumieh prison."

He added "when there is political will, security forces and the army can act heroically and carry out orders."

Mashnouq noted that a "sizable part" of the deadly bomb attack targeting Tripoli's Jabal Mohsen was "coordinated from block B," adding "Daesh (Islamic State) is behind the attack and I'm not convinced of al-Nusra Front's claim of responsibility."

Two suicide bombers who hail from Tripoli' Sunni neighborhood of al-Mankoubin, carried out Saturday an attack in a crowded cafe in the chiefly Alawite neighborhood of Jabal Mohsen, a district largely loyal to Syrian President Bashar Assad.

Nine people were killed and 35 others injured in the attack which the al-Qaida linked al-Nusra front claimed responsibility for.

Mashnouk said "the operations room where terrorist acts were coordinated no longer exists due to this effort."

He added that "this proves once again that our security forces and army are capable of protecting the state and political will."

Mashnouq said that security forces "did not harm anyone in the operation."

He stressed "we merely relocated them from one building to another and ended terrorism-related communications."

"There are no longer any communication devices nor anything which previously existed, and the Islamist label does not give them license to violate the law," the minister added.

Mashnouk pointed out that "the battle against terrorism goes without saying and that Lebanon is confronting terrorism."

He said that implementation of the security plan started once investigations showed several inmates linked to security activity in Lebanon.

He added "the operation began when phone calls between a number of inmates and Islamic State members concerning the Jabal Mohsen attack were intercepted." Endit