The successful operation that resulted in the arrest of terrorist Ahmad al-Assir was “purely Lebanese,” with no international or Palestinian intelligence agencies playing a role

The successful operation that resulted in the arrest of terrorist Ahmad al-Assir was “purely Lebanese,” with no international or Palestinian intelligence agencies playing a role, General Security chief Abbas Ibrahim said.

“We are never embarrassed to say we cooperate with regional agencies in our operations, and this is what occurred when we arrested [extremist militant Shadi] Mawlawi,” Ibrahim was quoted as saying. “But this time, [the operation] was purely Lebanese and fully carried out by the General Security... from A to Z.”

He dismissed as “false” media reports that claimed Palestinian factions or foreign intelligence agencies helped Lebanese authorities identify Assir, who was arrested at Beirut’s airport Saturday morning.

According to Ibrahim, the operation was the result of close monitoring of the fugitive by the General Security.

Ibrahim also denied that General Security was able to identify Assir, who was wearing a disguise, through a retina scanning machine. “We have no such technology,” he said.