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Lebanese army arrests IS "emir" in Palestinian refugee camp

Xinhua, September 22, 2016 Adjust font size:

Lebanese army intelligence on Thursday arrested Imad Yassine, known as the emir of the Islamic State (IS), in a Palestinian refugee camp, the National News Agency (NNA) reported.

According to the report, Yassine, who was arrested in the Ain el-Hilweh camp, received orders from IS foreign operations chief Abu Khaled al-Iraqi to stage major Iraq-style bombings throughout Lebanon.

Traditionally, the army does not enter the 12 Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon, leaving Palestinian factions in charge of security.

That, however, resulted in lawlessness in many camps, and Ain el-Hilweh, home to over 54,000 registered Palestinian refugees, gained notoriety as a refuge camp for extremists and fugitives.

More than 450,000 Palestinians are registered in Lebanon with UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees. Endit