Lebanon arrests nine over deadly Beirut bombings - Al Jazeera English - 0 views
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Lebanese security forces have arrested nine people, most of them Syrian nationals, over their alleged involvement in last week's twin bombings in Beirut that killed at least 44 people, the interior minister said.
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The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group claimed responsibility for the attacks last Thursday, which hit a busy shopping street in Burj al-Barajneh.
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The initial plan was apparently to send five suicide bombers to a hospital in the neighbourhood, he said, but heavy security forced them to change the target to a densely populated area.
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"The whole suicide bombing network and its supporters were arrested in the 48 hours following the explosion," Mashnuq said.
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Beirut-based political analyst Ali Rizk told Al Jazeera that the bombings signal a shift in ISIL's tactics.
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"The Beirut bombing is also an indication that the idea of Islamic caliphate, as envisioned by ISIL, is facing major reality checks, and is failing apart," he added, explaining that the attacks on foreign lands are because the group is failing to maintain power in its previous strongholds in Syria and Iraq.
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"Those killed in the Beirut bombing, many of whom were children and the elderly, have paid an unnecessary price," Meqdad said. "ISIL is engaged in terrorism only to defame the good name of Islam and it is serving only those who wish to keep Islam stigmatised by the terrorism label."