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Bombings in Lebanon point to ISIS

Recent security incidents, including the June 23 car bombing in Beirut's suburbs, are likely signs that ISIS plans even more attacks in Lebanon.
A woman stands on a balcony as she removes shattered glass beside bloodstains on the wall of a building at a site of an explosion in the southern suburbs of the Lebanese capital Beirut, early June 24, 2014. A suicide bomber blew up his car in southern Beirut on Monday night near an army checkpoint, killing himself and wounding several people watching the soccer World Cup in a nearby cafe. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir (LEBANON - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) - RTR3VDDD
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It did not take too long for the violence of the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) to reach Beirut. Last week, this column warned of the potential for further terrorism in Lebanon following the ISIS advances in Iraq and a string of supposedly isolated security incidents in the country. There was a car bombing late on June 23, a suicide attack, the arrests of dozens of alleged ISIS affiliates, news about terrorist networks and plots for major political assassinations and coup attempts.

Nevertheless, the hysteria caused by the fear of this terrorist group on the one hand, and the calculations of some to invest in this fear to serve political interests on the other — besides the multiple Lebanese and international parties following up on this issue — required a thorough examination to know exactly what happened in Beirut in the past few days.

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