Radical sheikh still wields influence from Lebanese prison
A suspect in the failed Jan. 21 suicide attack on a Beirut coffee house has reportedly admitted to being a homegrown terrorist aligned with the Islamic State and a follower of Salafist Sheikh Ahmad al-Assir.
Conflicting portraits are emerging of Omar Assi, who police said attempted a suicide bombing Jan. 21 at a Beirut cafe. The young man is allegedly the second suicide attacker in recent years from the city of Saida.
The city, about 25 miles south of Beirut, was also home to Mouin Abou Dahr, who was behind the deadly November 2013 terror attack on the Iranian Embassy in Beirut. Both men were followers of radical Sheikh Ahmad al-Assir. Assir is now in prison, but observers say he has a pool of followers in Saida, some of whom have pledged allegiance to the Islamic State. The Lebanese authorities say Assi confessed to being one of them.
Officials allege Assi walked into the Costa cafe in the bustling Beirut neighborhood of Hamra and attempted to set off an 8-kilogram (17.6-pound) shrapnel-laden explosive belt before he was arrested by the security forces. According to sources within the Ministry of Interior, Assi’s arrest was made possible by the December arrest of several terrorist cells in Saida and north Lebanon.
“Islamic State activity has been curbed by the efficiency of security services. [IS] now operates in small, decentralized cells,” a ministry source told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity.
