2015 Jabal Mohsen suicide attacks

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2015 Jabal Mohsen suicide attack
Part of Syrian Civil War spillover in Lebanon
Location Jabal Mohsen, Tripoli, Lebanon
Date 10 January 2015
Target Alawite civilians
Attack type
 Suicide bombings
Deaths 9
Non-fatal injuries
 More than 30
Perpetrators Nusra Front

On 10 January 2015, nine people were killed and more than 30 wounded when two suicide bombers blew themselves up in a crowded café in Jabal Mohsen, Tripoli, Lebanon. [1]

Tripoli, Lebanon City

Tripoli is the largest city in northern Lebanon and the second-largest city in the country. Situated 85 kilometers north of the capital Beirut, it is the capital of the North Governorate and the Tripoli District. Tripoli overlooks the eastern Mediterranean Sea, and it is the northernmost seaport in Lebanon. It holds a string of four small islands offshore, and they are also the only islands in Lebanon. The Palm Islands were declared a protected area because of their status of haven for endangered loggerhead turtles, rare monk seals and migratory birds.

Lebanon Country in Western Asia

Lebanon, officially known as the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus is west across the Mediterranean Sea. Lebanon's location at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian hinterland facilitated its rich history and shaped a cultural identity of religious and ethnic diversity. At just 10,452 km2, it is the smallest recognized sovereign state on the mainland Asian continent.

Contents

Events

After the first explosion, the second suicide bomber approached the Abu Imran café. Before he could blow himself up, 60-year-old father of seven "Abu Ali" Issa Khaddour rushed and tackled the bomber, and prevented many deaths. [2] The wounded were taken to the hospital in Zgharta, as Jabal Mohsen residents were afraid that Sunni Islamist mobs would kill Alawite wounded if taken to a hospital in Tripoli. [3] The dead were buried on January 12. [4]

Zgharta City in North Governorate, Lebanon

Zgharta (Arabic: زغرتا‎ Classical Syriac: ܙܓܪܬܐ‎, -- also spelled Zghorta -- is a city in North Lebanon, with an estimated population of around 50,000. It is the second biggest city in Northern Lebanon after Tripoli.

Islamism set of ideologies holding that Islam should guide social and political as well as personal life

Islamism is a concept whose meaning has been debated in both public and academic contexts. The term can refer to diverse forms of social and political activism advocating that public and political life should be guided by Islamic principles or more specifically to movements which call for full implementation of sharia. It is commonly used interchangeably with the terms political Islam or Islamic fundamentalism. In academic usage, the term Islamism does not specify what vision of "Islamic order" or sharia are being advocated, or how their advocates intend to bring them about. In Western mass media it tends to refer to groups whose aim is to establish a sharia-based Islamic state, often with implication of violent tactics and human rights violations, and has acquired connotations of political extremism. In the Muslim world, the term has positive connotations among its proponents.

The al-Qaeda affiliated terrorist group Nusra Front took responisibility for the attacks, which targeted members of the Alawite sect. It was the first suicide attack on a civilian neighbourhood in nearly a year, following a security sweep that temporarily calmed the Bab al-Tabbaneh–Jabal Mohsen conflict between Sunnis and Alawites of Tripoli. Nusra claimed the attack was in revenge for the Syrian government's attacks on Sunnis in the Syrian civil war, and for a bombing of Sunni mosques that was blamed on Alawites. [5] The interior minister of Lebanon, Nohad Machnouk, said on January 11 that the attack was carried out by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. [6]

Al-Qaeda Salafi jihadist organization

Al-Qaeda is a militant Sunni Islamist multi-national organization founded in 1988 by Osama bin Laden, Abdullah Azzam, and several other Arab volunteers during the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.

Bab al-Tabbaneh–Jabal Mohsen conflict

The Bab al-Tabbaneh–Jabal Mohsen conflict is a recurring conflict between Sunni Muslim residents of the Bab-al-Tibbaneh and Alawite Muslim residents of the Jabal Mohsen neighbourhoods of Tripoli, Lebanon. Residents of the two neighbourhoods have been rivals since the Lebanese Civil War, and have often engaged in violence. They are divided along sectarian lines, as well as by their opposition to or support of the Alawite-led Syrian government. Violence flared up during the Syrian Civil War spillover in Lebanon.

Nohad El Machnouk was the Lebanese Minister of Interior and Municipalities and a Member of Parliament representing Beirut’s second district. He is a member of the “Future Bloc” coalition and serves on the Human Rights and Foreign Affairs parliamentary committees. He also serves on the ministerial committee charged with responding to the Syrian refugee crisis.

Reaction

The US strongly condemned the attack. [7] On January 11, the Qalamoun branch of the Nusra Front threatened to conduct more attacks against Jabal Mohsen and Hezbollah. [8] On 10 April 2015, one of the men implicated in the bombings was killed by Lebanese security forces. [9]

A suicide bombing was also supposed to have taken place in another Jabal Mohsen café simultaneously with the 2015 Beirut bombings on November 12, but the supposed bomber was detained. [10]

2015 Beirut bombings

On 12 November 2015, two suicide bombers detonated explosives in Bourj el-Barajneh, a southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, that is inhabited mostly by Shia Muslims. Reports of the number of fatalities concluded that around 89 people were killed, 43 directly died from the detonation, then many followed during treatment or from injury. Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) claimed responsibility for the attacks.

Related Research Articles

Since 2004, a series of bombings and assassinations have struck Lebanon, most of them occurring in and around the capital, Beirut. This wave of bombings began with the assassination attempt on Marwan Hmade, then peaked with the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri on 14 February 2005, which touched off the Cedar Revolution and the withdrawal of Syrian troops. After the massive protests sparked by Hariri's killing, several more bombings hit Lebanon.

On 10 February 2012, two large bombs exploded at Syrian security forces buildings in Aleppo. According to the Syrian government and state media, the blasts were caused by two suicide car bombs. It reported that 28 people were killed and 235 wounded. The bombings took place during the Syrian Civil War and the government blamed armed opposition groups.

Lebanese Sunni Muslims refers to Lebanese people who are adherents of the Sunni branch of Islam in Lebanon, which is the largest denomination in Lebanon tied with Shia Muslims. Sunni Islam in Lebanon has a history of more than a millennium. According to a CIA study, Lebanese Sunni Muslims constitute an estimated 27% of Lebanon's population.

The 10 May 2012 Damascus bombings were carried out using a pair of car bombs allegedly detonated by suicide bombers outside a military intelligence complex in Damascus, Syria. Combined, the perpetrators detonated more than 1,000 kilograms (2,200 lb) of explosives, tearing the facade off a 10-story building. With 55 people confirmed dead and almost 400 others injured, the attack was the deadliest bombing to its date in the Syrian Civil War, though later outpaced by other events.

Rifaat Ali Eid is the leader of the Arab Democratic Party as of 25 December 2015. The party has the largest support of Lebanese Alawites, and its base is Tripoli, Lebanon, in the Jabal Mohsen neighbourhood. Rifaat took over its leadership after his father, former MP Ali Eid, died in 2015.

Syrian Civil War spillover in Lebanon

Between 2011 and 2017, fighting from the Syrian Civil War spilled over into Lebanon as opponents and supporters of the Syrian Arab Republic travelled to Lebanon to fight and attack each other on Lebanese soil. The Syrian conflict stoked a resurgence of sectarian violence in Lebanon, with many of Lebanon's Sunni Muslims supporting the rebels in Syria, while many of Lebanon's Shi'a Muslims supporting the Syrian regime which is led by Bashar Al-Assad, whose Alawite minority is usually described as an offshoot of Shi'a Islam. Killings, unrest, and kidnappings of foreign citizens across Lebanon resulted.

The Battle of Shadadeh was a three-day-long battle fought between government forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and Islamist Al-Nusra Front fighters in the city of Shadadeh, located near the Iraqi border.

The Lebanese–Syrian border clashes are an ongoing series of clashes on the Lebanese-Syrian border caused by the ongoing Syrian Civil War.

Operation al-Shabah military operation

Operation al-Shabah was launched in May 2013 by the Iraqi Army, with the stated aim of severing contact between the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant and the al-Nusra Front in Syria by clearing militants from the border area with Syria and Jordan.

From its inception, the Syrian Civil War has produced and inspired a great deal of strife and unrest in the nation of Lebanon. Prior to the Battle of Arsal in August 2014, the Lebanese Army has tried to keep out of it and the violence has been mostly between various factions within the country and overt Syrian involvement has been limited to airstrikes and occasional accidental incursions.

The following lists events that happened in 2014 in Lebanon.

From its inception, the Syrian Civil War has produced and inspired a great deal of strife and unrest in the nation of Lebanon. Prior to the Battle of Arsal in August 2014, the Lebanese Army has tried to keep out of it and the violence has been mostly between various factions within the country and overt Syrian involvement has been limited to airstrikes and occasional accidental incursions. Since then, the Lebanese armed forces have taken a major part in the frey within Lebanon, and there have been jihadist attempts at invasion which have been repulsed by both the Army and Hezbullah.

In early 2014, the jihadist group Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant captured extensive territory in Western Iraq in the Anbar campaign, while counter-offensives against it were mounted in Syria. Raqqa in Syria became its headquarters. The Wall Street Journal estimated that eight million people lived under its control in the two countries.

Lebanon's role in the Syrian Civil War has been limited, compared to the role of other regional and international actors. Lebanese Republic is not officially involved in the conflict, but has been greatly affected by it and some Lebanese factors have taken an active role in the Syrian War and its spillover into Lebanon.

References

  1. ↑ "8 People Killed and 36 Injured in Jabal Mohsen's Explosion". Naharnet.
  2. ↑ "Father of seven who died for his neighborhood". The Daily Star Newspaper - Lebanon. Retrieved 24 January 2015.
  3. ↑ "Jabal Mohsen Residents Quietly Mourning After Tripoli Bombing". Al Akhbar English. Retrieved 24 January 2015.
  4. ↑ "Jabal Mohsen bids farewell to fallen sons". The Daily Star Newspaper - Lebanon. Retrieved 24 January 2015.
  5. ↑ "North Lebanon suicide attack kills nine". The Daily Star Newspaper - Lebanon.
  6. ↑ Perry, Tom (11 January 2015). "Islamic State carried out Lebanon cafe attack - minister". Reuters. Retrieved 11 January 2015.
  7. ↑ "U.S. 'Strongly Condemns' Deadly Jabal Mohsen Bombing". Naharnet.
  8. ↑ "Nusra to Hizbullah, Jabal Mohsen: We'll Strike You in Your Heartlands". Naharnet. Retrieved 29 May 2016.
  9. ↑ "Security Forces Arrest Hoblos, Kill Fugitives in Tripoli". Naharnet. Retrieved 29 May 2016.
  10. ↑ "Report: Possible Link between Tripoli Detainee and Bourj Barajneh Suicide Bombers". Naharnet. Retrieved 29 May 2016.
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