28 October 2012 | last updated at 02:10AM
TWO MALAYSIAN SUICIDE BOMBERS HELD IN
LEBANON
JIHADIST MISSION: Duo suspected to have
links with al-Qaeda terrorist organisation
LEBANON authorities have arrested two
Malaysians, believed to be suicide bombers and suspected to be
linked to the al-Qaeda terrorist organisation.
The suspects, aged 21 and 28, were nabbed at the Beirut
International Airport.
Malaysian Ambassador to Lebanon Ilango Karuppannan, said the duo
were picked up several days ago but could not confirm the arrest
date.
He said the embassy knew about the arrests on Friday.
“They (the suspects) were detained for suspected links to
al-Qaeda.
“They will be brought to court tomorrow, and we will enquire
from them whether they require counsel,” he said.
Karuppannan said his office had informed Wisma Putra on the case
so that the Foreign Ministry could inform the families of the
detained.
According to Lebanon’s Al-Joumhouria newspaper on Thursday,
quoting security sources, the Malaysians were detained by Lebanon’s
army intelligence on charges of being members of the terrorist
organisation.
Investigations revealed they were recruited into al-Qaeda by
another Malaysian before being taken to Yemen where they met other
members of the terror organisation.
Al-Joumhouria said, about two months ago, the two Malaysian
suspects had tried to enter Syria, via Turkey, on a jihadist
mission to carry out suicide attacks.
Their planned attacks were coordinated by a man, said to be
responsible for the entry of all jihadists into Syria, said the
daily.
When the two Malaysians failed to enter Syria, they decided to
head to Lebanon to carry out terrorist attacks but their activities
caught the eye of army intelligence.
The Malaysians were soon arrested and investigations revealed
they were planning on contacting an individual in Lebanon to
coordinate attacks.
Meanwhile, Lee Shi-Ian reports from Kuala Lumpur that the duo
were arrested on Oct 20 in Beirut.
“They had gone to Turkey from Kuala Lumpur.
“But because Turkish authorities knew who they were, they were
denied entry into the country,” a police source said.
They then went on to Germany where they boarded a flight to
Lebanon.
The source said Lebanese authorities were already warned about
the suspects.
It is learnt that one of the suspects was previously arrested in
Yemen for similar reasons and deported back to Malaysia.
Bernama
http://www.nst.com.my/latest/two-malaysian-suic…
01 November 2012 | last updated at 08:18AM
2 MALAYSIANS IN LEBANON DENY AL-QAEDA
LINK
KUALA LUMPUR: The two Malaysians charged
by a military court in Le-banon this week refuted the charges
against them yesterday.
The duo’s defence counsel, Marwan Sinno, told the New Straits
Times that the hearing, which began at 10.30am Lebanese time
(5.30pm in Malaysia), proceeded smoothly.
“With the help of interpreter, both of them told the judge that
they were in Lebanon as tourists and had no links to al-Qaeda,”
Marwan said.
He said the proceedings lasted for 21/2 hours and the two
answered questions posed to them by the judge.
A Malaysian embassy official was present during the
questioning.
Razif Mohd Ariff, 30, was questioned for about two hours.
Muhammad Razin Sharhan Mustafa Kamal, 21, was then questioned for
30 minutes.
Marwan said: “They should be released as there is no case
against them. They committed no crime in Lebanon.”
He said if everything went well, the preliminary decision would
be out by noon today.
In the event there is no case against the duo, they could be
released unconditionally. However, if there is substantial evidence
gathered based on reports against them, a trial could take place
and it would probably last up to a month or more.
Razin and Razif were charged by a military tribunal for their
alleged links to al-Qaeda and terrorist activities after being
arrested in Lebanon on Oct 20.
http://www.nst.com.my/nation/general/2-malaysia…
