Palestinian authorities have arrested a Saudi man who is a purported leader of an Al Qaeda affiliate group in Lebanon. He is believed to be behind the deadly bombing that targeted the Iranian Embassy last month.
If anyone doubted how long it would be before the Syrian civil war spilled over, he doubts no more. Slowly, Al Qaeda operatives are looking beyond the Syrian borders. Their aim is to plunge the entire Middle East and then Africa into sectarian conflict and ultimately establish a caliphate.
The strike in Beirut was brazen. But it was not the first. Already signs of the widening conflict have been clear and deadly. The attack that targeted the Iranian Embassy killed 23 people people and injured more than a hundred.
The Saudi man is believed to be at the head of the Abdullah Azzam Brigade, an Al Qaeda affiliate. Majid bin Muhammad al-Majid, the Saudi Islamist arrested, had been in Lebanon as a refugee. He had been living in a refugee camp after leaving Syria. He also had been part of Al Nusra front there, the most radicalized of the foreign entities now battling Assad's troops.
al-Majid had been a wanted man. Both the Saudis and the US had him in the crosshairs. His arrest therefore, has fulfilled the wish of many foreign entities, not just the Lebanese authorities.
Saudi Arabia has been vigorously pursuing terrorist both inland and abroad. They have drawn up lists of the most dangerous individuals, now 85 individuals long. al-Majid was one of them.
Source: Al Jazeera/ 1.1.14
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