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Sidon: another Lebanese flashpoint

Following incidents in Tripoli and Arsal, members of a terrorist cell in Sidon, the capital of the Lebanese south, were arrested by the Lebanese army, thus foiling another attempt to escalate the security situation.
Lebanese army soldiers are seen through a shattered car window as they secure the area near a mosque complex, where hardline Sunni cleric Sheikh Ahmed al-Assir was believed to be sheltering with his supporters, in Abra near Sidon, southern Lebanon, June 25, 2013. The Lebanese government will try on Tuesday to secure the country after the deadliest violence since the start of a two-year conflict in neighbouring Syria that has pushed Lebanon's myriad militia to clashes.Gunfights between the army and Sunni Mus
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BEIRUT — Security sources in the south revealed to Al-Monitor that a terrorist cell's planned attacks on Shiite and army targets in south Lebanon's capital, Sidon, were thwarted after the Lebanese army arrested members of the "Sidon Cell" on Oct. 29, as part of a pre-emptive operation that spared Lebanon a new security blow. The sources said that the cell had planned its attacks for Nov. 4, when Shiites commemorate Ashoura.

During the investigations, members of the cell admitted that they planned to target the Fatima al-Zahraa Mosque in the mostly Shiite town of Haret Sidon. The group also planned to target the army's intelligence center in Sidon’s port and assassinate several sheikhs, including Sheikh Maher Hammoud, the imam of Sidon's Al-Quds Mosque known for his religious moderation and condemnations of radicalism. The group also planned to assassinate Hezbollah officials and members of the group's arm in Sidon, the Resistance Brigades, and also carry out suicide attacks and burn down Shiite-owned shops.

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