Fatah al-Islam

Infobox War Faction
name=Fatah al-Islam
_ar. فتح الإسلام
war=the Insurgency in Lebanon (2007)


caption=
active=2006-present
leaders=Shaker al-Abssi
clans=
headquarters=Gaza
area=Lebanon, Gaza
strength=~500
partof=
previous=
next=
allies=Jund al-Sham
al-Qaeda
opponents=Lebanon
Fatah
battles=Insurgency in Lebanon (2007)

Fatah al-Islam, (Arabic: فتح الإسلام, English: Conquest of Islam) is a radical Sunni Islamist group that first formed in November 2006.cite web|title=Al-Qaida Inspired Groups on the Rise in Lebanon|author=Deborah Amos|publisher=National Public Radio|date=2007-05-21|accessdate=2007-05-23|url=http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=10305632] It has been described as a militant jihadistLe Figaro (April 16, 2007). [http://www.lefigaro.fr/english/20070416.WWW000000477_fatah_al_islam_the_new_terrorist_threat_hanging_over_lebanon.html "Fatah Al-Islam: the new terrorist threat hanging over Lebanon"] . Retrieved May 20, 2007.] movement that draws inspiration from al-Qaeda.Reuters (May 19, 2007). [http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?storyID=2007-05-20T031424Z_01_L20250509_RTRUKOC_0_US-LEBANON-CAMP-FIGHTING.xml "Lebanese army battles militants at Palestinian camp"] . Retrieved May 20, 2007.] It became very well known in May 2007 and June 2007 after engaging in combat against the Lebanese Army in the Nahr al-Bared UNRWA Palestinian refugee camp. The United States Department of State classified the group as a terrorist organization on August 9, 2007 [cite web|title=Fatah al-Islam Finally Designated A Terrorist Group By U.S. State Dept.|publisher=FatahAlIslam.org|date=2007-08-13|accessdate= 2007-10-01|url=http://www.fatahalislam.org/2007/08/13/fatah-al-islam-finally-designated-a-terrrorist-group-by-us-state-dept/]

Origins

Fatah al-Islam was led by a fugitive militant named Shaker al-Abssi,International Herald Tribune (March 15, 2007). [http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/03/15/news/lebanon.php "A new face of Al Qaeda emerges in Lebanon"] . Retrieved May 20, 207.] cite web|title=Abssi's Wife Identifies Her Husband's Corpse|publisher=Naharnet|date=2007-09-03|accessdate=2007-09-03|url=http://www.naharnet.com/domino/tn/newsdesk.nsf/0/3D4EE62D36EB5FDCC225734B0029D8CC?OpenDocument] A Palestinian refugee who was born in Jericho in 1955,cite web|title=22 troops, 19 Fatah al-Islam fighters dead|author=Rym Ghazal|publisher=The Daily Star|date=2007-05-21|accessdate=2007-05-23|url=http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=2&article_id=82400] al-Abssi was once a pilot with the rank of colonel.cite web|title=Fatah Al-Islam Explained|author=Ayman El-Masry|date=2007-05-23|accessdate=2007-05-23|url=http://www.turkishweekly.net/news.php?id=45209]

Al-Abssi's first militant activities can be traced to connections he established with a secular Palestinian militant group named Fatah al-Intifada in Libya, after it defected from the umbrella Fateh movement in 1983 . From Libya, al-Abssi reportedly moved to Damascus, where he made close ties with Fatah al-Intifada's number two in command, Abu Khaled al-Omla.

Syrian authorities arrested al-Abssi in 2000 and sentenced him to three years in prison on charges of smuggling weapons and ammunition between Jordan and Syria. The government later released him. He went to Iraq following the U.S.-led invasion in 2003 and fought alongside groups affiliated with Al-Qaeda. He is said to have become friends with a number of Al-Qaeda leaders there.

In 2004 Al-Abssi was sentenced to death in absentia by a Jordanian military court for involvement in the assassination of U.S. diplomat Laurence Foley, after Syrian authorities refused to extradite him for trial.Komotv (May 20, 2007). [http://www.komotv.com/news/national/7600082.html "Dozens killed in Lebanon gunbattle between Islamic militants, security forces"] . Retrieved May 20, 2007] Abu Musab al-Zarqawi was also sentenced to death for the killing of Foley and was thought to have been an associate of Al-Abssi.

He briefly returned to Syria, where he again hooked up with al-Omla who helped him relocate to Lebanon, where he and a group of youth he met in Iraq set themselves up in the headquarters of Fatah Al-Intifada in the village of Helwa in the Western Beqaa in 2005 . In May 2006, Al-Abssi and this small group engaged in armed clashes with Lebanese soldiers that led to the killing of one young Syrian wanted by Damascus for fighting in Iraq.

Syrian intelligence services then summoned al-Omla to ask him about al-Abssi and his group. The investigation unmasked the close coordination between al-Omla and al-Abssi that had been kept from the pro-Damascus Secretary General of Fatah Al-Intifada, Abu Moussa, and by extension, from the Syrian authorities.

Al-Omla then reportedly ordered al-Abssi to leave the Western Beqaa, which is close to the borders with Syria, and head for refugee camps in northern Lebanon.

In November 2006 the Palestinian security committee in Al-Badawi refugee camp in Tripoli handed over two members of al-Abssi's group to Lebanese military intelligence. Al-Abssi was reportedly infuriated and decided to break with Fatah al-Intifada and establish his own group, Fatah al-Islam.

In November 2006 Fatah al-Islam set up a headquarters in the Palestinian refugee camp of Nahr al-Bared in northern Lebanon. The group seized three compounds in the camp that had belonged to the secular Palestinian militant group, Fatah al-Intifada. Al-Abssi then issued a declaration saying he was bringing religion back to the Palestinian cause.

In March 2007 Seymour Hersh, investigative reporter for "New Yorker magazine", suggested that the Lebanese government was giving support to Fatah al-Islam, in order to defeat Hezbollah.cite web|title=Fatah al-Islam had support from US, claims Hersh|publisher=Turkish Daily News|date=2007-05-24|accessdate=2007-05-25|url=http://www.turkishdailynews.com.tr/article.php?enewsid=73988] Independently, Dr. Franklin Lamb, a researcher at the American University of Beirut, a Hezbollah expert and the author of "Hezbollah: A Brief Guide for Beginners", located at the time in Lebanon, makes similar allegations, in more detail. He claims that assistant to Secretary of State, David Welch negotiated with the Saudis and Saad Hariri of the American backed Siniora government to funnel aid to Fatah al-Islam, so that the Sunni group could eventually attack Shiite Hezbollah cite web|title=Who's Behind the Fighting in North Lebanon?|publisher=Counter Punch|date=2007-05-24|accessdate=2007-05-28|url=http://www.counterpunch.org/lamb05242007.html] .

But Michael Young, a writer for Reason Magazine, casts doubts on Seymour Hersh's claims cite web|title=Does the New Yorker actually edit Seymour Hersh?|publisher=Reason Magazine|date=2007-03-01|accessdate= 2007-06-04|url=http://reason.com/news/show/118922.html] . Additionally, Professor Barry Rubin, Director of the Global Research in International Affairs Center, has alleged that Al-Abssi is in fact a Syrian operative engaged in destabilizing the government of Lebanon.cite web|title=The Truth About Syria|publisher=Michael Totten|date=2007-06-06|accessdate=2007-06-06|url=http://www.michaeltotten.com/archives/001458.html]

Other indications that Fatah al-Islam, and specifically Fath Al-Islam leader Shaker Al-'Absi, may have Syrian support come from Samir Geagea, executive body chairman of the Lebanese Forces, who asked why

if anyone is found out to be a Muslim Brotherhood activist, he receives a death sentence, and if he is very lucky, he gets hard labor. So how come Shaker Al-'Absi - who is no ordinary militant but a leader... and who committed a crime in Jordan and was sentenced to death there, and was arrested in Syria - has been released [from prison] ? ["Al-Jazeera TV" (Qatar), May 23, 2007; "Al-Mustaqbal" (Lebanon), May 24, 2007.]

Membership

The official spokesman for Fatah al-Islam is Abu Salim Taha. Fatah al-Islam supposedly has more than 150 armed fighters in the Nahr el-Bared camp [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6685475.stm BBC NEWS | Middle East | Lebanese minister warns militants ] ] . The group allegedly has about more than half a dozen Palestinian members. The bulk of its membership is said to made up of Syrians, Saudis, and other Arab Jihadists who had fought in Iraq, as well as approximately 50 Lebanese extremist Sunnis.

The Syrian ambassador said the leaders of the group were mostly Palestinians, Jordanians, or Saudis, and that perhaps a "couple of them" were Syrians.Evelyn Leopold. [http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N21357304.htm> "Syria says militants in Lebanon work for al Qaeda."] AlertNet]

The pro-Saudi "Al Hayat" newspaper reports that Fatah al-Islam has close ties to Syria, and that much of the leadership of Fatah al-Islam is made up of Syrian officers.Fact|date=June 2007

Fatah al-Islam casualties is mostly made of Saudis. There are also information that there are Chechen and Bangali fighters among this group.

Ideology

According to Reuters, Fatah al-Islam's primary goals are to institute Islamic law in Palestinian refugee camps and to target Israel.Reuters (May 20, 2007). [http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L20400320.htm "Facts about militant group Fatah al-Islam"] . Retrieved May 20, 2007.]

Several news organizations have suggested that Fatah al-Islam has connections to al-Qaeda. Some reports even claim Fatah al-Islam is part of the al-Qaeda network. Abssi has stated that the group has no organization ties to al-Qaeda, "but agrees with its aim of fighting infidels." [http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSL2150840520070521?src=052107_1256_TOPSTORY_lebanon_clashes FACTBOX: Facts about militant group Fatah al-Islam] ] Fatah al-Islam statements have appeared on Islamist Web sites known to publish al-Qaeda statements.

Syria's ambassador Bashar Ja'afari, responding to Lebanese claims that Syria is a sponsor of Fatah al-Islam, told Reuters that several of the organization's members had been jailed for three or four years in Syria for connections to al-Qaeda, and that upon their release they had left the country. Ja'afari also said that, "If they come to Syria, they will be jailed," and that, "They are not fighting on behalf of the Palestinian cause. They are fighting on behalf of al Qaeda.".Evelyn Leopold. [http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N21357304.htm> "Syria says militants in Lebanon work for al Qaeda."] ]

On May 23, 2007 the Arab League issued a statement "strongly condemn [ing] the criminal and terrorist acts carried out by the terrorist group known as Fatah al-Islam," adding that the group has "no relation to the Palestinian question or Islam."cite web|title=Arab League calls Fatah al-Islam 'terrorists'|publisher=EU Business|date=2007-05-23|accessdate=2007-05-23|url=http://www.eubusiness.com/news_live/1179925220.36]

In an interview on CNN International's "Your World Today," Seymour Hersh said that according to an agreement between the United States Vice President Dick Cheney, Deputy National Security Advisor Elliot Abrams, Saudi National Security Adviser Prince Bandar bin Sultan, covert funding for the Sunni Fatah al-Islam would be provided by the Saudi regime to counterweight the influence of the Shiite Hezbollah.

Hersh said, "This was a covert operation that [Prince] Bandar ran with us." He also said that when he was in Beirut he "talked to officials who acknowledged the reason they were tolerating the radical jihadist groups was because they were seen as a protection against Hezbollah."

Hezbollah released a statement saying, "We feel that there is someone out there who wants to drag the [Lebanese] army to this confrontation and bloody struggle ... to serve well-known projects and aims," and it called for a political solution to the crisis.cite web|title=Hezbollah Backs Lebanon Army in Standoff|author=Sally Buzbee|publisher=Guardian Unlimited|date=2007-05-22|accessdate=2007-05-25|url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,,-6652520,00.html]

Activities

German train bombings

The fourth-highest ranking member of Fatah al-Islam, Saddam el-Hajdib, and his brother Khaled Khair-Eddin el-Hajdib, were among the suspects behind failed bombings on German commuter trains on July 31, 2006. The bombs did not explode due to faulty mechanisms. Saddam el-Hajdib was killed by the Lebanese army in the 2007 conflict between Fatah al-Islam and the Lebanese army. [ [http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/05/29/africa/ME-GEN-Lebanon-Germany-Terror-Investigation.php International Herald Tribune (AP)] ] [ [http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,274154,00.html FoxNews (AP)] ]

Plot to assassinate anti-Syrian Lebanese officials

On December 7, 2006 "Le Monde" reported that a top UN official had been informed by the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) representative in Lebanon, Abbas Zaki, of a plot by Fatah al-Islam to assassinate 36 anti-Syrian figures in Lebanon. [Reuters (December 7, 2006). [http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N07288654.htm "Annan urges Lebanon talks in hope of ending crisis"] . Retrieved December 7, 2006.] Le Monde (December 7, 2006). [http://www.lemonde.fr/web/article/0,1-0,36-843018,0.html "Des djihadistes viseraient 36 personnalités antisyriennes au Liban"] . Retrieved December 7, 2006.] PLO security agents later confronted the group, arresting six of them. Four were later released while a Syrian and a Saudi Arabian were handed over to the Lebanese military.

Lebanese authorities have accused the organization of being involved in the February 13, 2007 bombing of two minibuses that killed three people, and injured more than 20 others, in Ain Alaq, Lebanon, and identified four of its members as having confessed to the bombing. They have also stated that the group is a front for Syrian intelligence in Lebanon. Both Fatah al-Islam and the Syrian government denied the collaboration charges.

Funding by Saudi Arabia

Investigative journalist Seymour Hersh said on CNN that Fatah al-Islam was being funded by Saudi Arabia through Bandar bin Sultan, as a result of an agreement among Dick Cheney, Elliott Abrams and Bandar "whereby the Saudis would covertly fund the Sunni Fatah al-Islam in Lebanon as a counterweight to the Shia Hezbollah". He also stated that the Lebanese government, led by the Sunni Future Movement, was providing support for the group. [cite news|url=http://rawstory.com/news/2007/Hersh_Bush_arranged_support_for_militants_0522.html|title=

Hersh: Bush administration arranged support for militants attacking Lebanon|publisher=The Raw Story|date=May 22, 2007 |accessdate=2008-05-12]

Conflict with the Lebanese army

On May 19, 2007 a police search was mounted for suspects in a bank robbery a day earlier in Amyoun, a town southeast of Tripoli. Gunmen made off with $125,000 in cash in the robbery.

According to Ashraf Rifi, the Lebanese Interior Security Forces chief, the bank robbers were traced to an apartment in Tripoli which turned out to be an office for Fatah al-Islam. The armed militants at the office resisted arrest and a gunbattle ensued. A three-day standoff between security forces and militants at the apartment ended on 23 May, after the last Fatah al-Islam militant at that location blew himself up.cite web|title='Nowhere to put us'|publisher=BBC|date=2007-05-23|accessdate=2007-05-23|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/talking_point/6683783.stm]

Robert Fisk reported that while some of the group that had robbed the bank were cornered in the apartment block, others had holed up in the Nahr el-Bared camp north of the city.cite web|title=Scored dead as Lebanese army battles Islamists in bloodiest day since civil war|author=Robert Fisk|date=2007-05-21|accessdate=2007-05-23|url=http://news.independent.co.uk/world/middle_east/article2565126.ece] Under a 1969 Arab accord, the Lebanese army may not enter the Palestinian refugee camps.ABC/Reuters (May 21, 2007). [http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200705/s1929077.htm "Lebanese Army shells refugee camp"] . Retrieved May 21, 2007.]

The militants seized Lebanese army positions at the entrance to the Nahr al-Bared camp, capturing two armored personnel carriers. Security officials also reported that the gunmen had opened fire on roads leading out of the camp to Tripoli, and ambushed a military unit, killing two soldiers.

The attacks by Fatah al-Islam killed at least 27 Lebanese soldiers, 15 Fatah al-Islam militants and 15 civilians, injuring another 27 Lebanese soldiers and over 40 civilians.BBC News (May 21, 2007). [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6675163.stm "Scores killed in Lebanon fighting"] . Retrieved May 21, 2007.] Lebanese forces fired artillery barrages against militants in the camp.

In response, the Lebanese army brought in reinforcements and on May 20 began a steady barrage of artillery and heavy machine gun fire in an attempt to hit militant positions that Fatah al-Islam had occupied inside the Nahr al-Bared camp.

On May 20, a spokesperson for Fatah made an official statement to the WAFA Palestine News Agency affirming that the "so called Fatah al-Islam" is neither part of, nor linked to, the Fatah organization or the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). He further mentioned that this group had launched several attacks against Palestinian refugees in Lebanon and called upon Palestinian refugees to "isolate this emerging group".cite web|title=Fateh Official Denies Link with "So Called Fatah al-Islam"|publisher=WAFA News Agency|date=2007-05-20|accessdate=2007-05-23|url=http://www.wafa.ps/english/body.asp?id=10102]

The PLO representative in Lebanon, Abbas Zaki also met with official bodies in Lebanon to officially inform them that the group is made up of "extremists" and is not linked with Palestinian agenda.

On May 21, Zaki and other PLO officials attempted to negotiate a ceasefire to alleviate the humanitarian suffering in the camp.cite web|title=Palestinian authorities negotiating ceasefire in Lebanon|publisher=Novosti|date=2007-05-21|accessdate=2007-05-23|url=http://en.rian.ru/world/20070521/65811544.html] While the Lebanese army had been sending tank and mortar fire into the camp in pursuit of Fatah al-Islam, some 30,000 civilians were trapped inside, and conditions had rapidly worsened. A handful of the wounded were taken out but it was impossible to get outside help to many others. At least 8 refugees were killed and 60 others wounded.

Palestinian civilians from the refugee camp were finally able to flee the fighting after Fatah al-Islam declared a unilateral truce on May 22, and the exodus continued on May 23.cite web|title=Fatah al-Islam vowes no surrender despite truce|publisher=Khaleej Times|date=2007-05-23|accessdate=2007-05-23|url=http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticleNew.asp?xfile=data/middleeast/2007/May/middleeast_May385.xml&section=middleeast&col=] Fatah al-Islam is still inside the camp, and says that if it is attacked, it will fight to the death.

An al Qaeda military official warned the Lebanese government to stop attacks on the Fatah al-Islam cell, or else “we will tear out your hearts with traps and surround your places with explosive canisters, and target all your businesses, beginning with tourism and ending with other rotten industries... We warn you for the last time, and after it there will only be rivers of blood.”cite web|title=Lebanon will never let the terrorists win|author=Ramzi Al-Hussein|publisher=Ya Libnan|date=2007-05-26|accessdate=2007-05-26|url=http://yalibnan.com/site/archives/2007/05/lebanon_will_ne.php]

On the June 16, 2007, 68 Lebanese soldiers, 50 Fatah al-Islam supporters and 32 civilian Palestinians had been killed in the fighting according to Dailystar newspaper. [ [http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=2&article_id=83088 The Daily Star - Politics - Booby-trap kills four soldiers at Nahr al-Bared ] ] Which later has grown to 75 dead Lebanese soldiers.

On Sunday, September 2, 2007, the Lebanese Army took control of the Nahr el-Bared camp, after three months of fighting. Thirty-nine Fatah al-Islam members were killed while attempting a mass pre-dawn break-out from the camp. At least three Lebanese soldiers also died in Sunday's fighting, taking the number of troops killed in 3 months to 158. At least 222 militants and a number of civilians were also killed in the same period. One day after the Lebanese Army victory unidentified fighters apparently clashed with security forces wounding two. [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6975710.stm New explosions rock Lebanon camp] ] On Monday, September 10, 2007 it was announced that DNA tests on a body thought to be the group's leader Shaker al-Abssi had turned out negative. Lebanese officials now say that he probably fled the fighting in the camp before the army took control. [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6987423.stm Lebanon militant 'escaped siege' September 10, 2007] ] [ [http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1189411377233&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShow] ] Full]

On Wednesday, December 12, 2007, Lebanese Army Major General Francois el-Hajj and his bodyguard were killed in a car bombing attack in Baabda. Several suspects have since been apprehended and investigated, and investigation suggests Fatah al-Islam involvement. [ [http://yalibnan.com/site/archives/2007/12/terrorists_behi.php Terrorists behind assassination came from Palestinian camp | Ya Libnan | Lebanon News Live from Beirut ] ]

On Wednesday, January 9, 2008, Fatah al-Islam chief Shaker al-Abssi made a public speech in Lebanon, acknowledging his escape and vowing for revenge against the Lebanese army after the group's defeat in the 2007 Lebanon conflict. [ [http://yalibnan.com/site/archives/2008/01/fatah_alislam_c.php Fatah al-Islam chief threatens to attack Lebanon army | Ya Libnan | Lebanon News Live from Beirut ] ]

Emirate plot

According to Lebanese and Palestinian sources, Fatah al-Islam had planned to revolt and establish an emirate in the area of Tripoli with the help of al-Qaeda members who had fled Iraq. [cite web|title=Extremists planned uprising in Lebanon – report
author=Roee Nahmias
publisher=Ynet
date=2007-06-04
accessdate= 2007-04-06|url=http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3408624,00.html] This operation was dubbed "Operation 755". According to Lebanese sources, the plot was uncovered and foiled. Lebanese security forces had found CDs with detailed plans for this plot. Abu-Salim Taha, spokesperson for the Fatah al-Islam denied these charges. [cite web|title=Fatah al-Islam Talk to Asharq Al-Awsat
author=Sawan al Atbah
publisher=Asharq Al-Awsat
date=2007-06-04
accessdate= 2007-04-06|url=http://aawsat.com/english/news.asp?section=1&id=9171]

Criminal charges

On June 21, 2007, Lebanese State Prosecutor Saeed Mirza filed criminal charges against 16 Fatah al-Islam members accused of carrying out the February 13, 2007 Lebanon bombings against two civilian buses that killed two people and injured 21 others. Those attacks took place in Ain Alaq, a Lebanese mountain village.citeweb|title = 16 Reputed Fatah al-Islam Members Face Criminal Charges | publisher = [http://www.fatahislam.com Fatah al-Islam] | url = http://www.fatahislam.com/news/lebanese-prosecutor-21062007-charges.html | date = 2007-06-21 | accessdate = 2007-06-22 ]

Nine of the 16 suspects accused were in custody when the charges were filed; other, including Fatah al-Islam head Shaker al-Abssi and the group's reputed military commander Shehab Abu Qadour "a/k/a" Abu Hureira before his death were still being sought. [citeweb|title = Shehab Abu Qadour "aka" Abu Hureira | publisher = [http://www.fatahislam.com Fatah al-Islam] | url = http://www.fatahislam.com/leadership/abu-hureira.html | date = 2007-05-27 | accessdate = 2007-06-22 ] The defendants include ten Syrians, two Lebanese, three Palestinians (including one woman) and a Saudi national.

References

External links

* [http://www.cooperativeresearch.org/entity.jsp?entity=fatah_al-islam_1 Fatah al-Islam] at the History Commons
* [http://yalibnan.com/site/archives/2007/05/lebanons_fatah_1.php Fatah al-Islam leadership & organization] May 23, 2007 Ya Libnan
* [http://www.fatahislam.com/leadership/ Fatah al-Islam leaders] from [http://www.fatahislam.com/ Fatah al-Islam]
* [http://www.fatahalislam.org Fatah al-Islam: News Reports]
* [http://yalibnan.com/tag/Fatah%20al-Islam Fatah al-Islam Videos]
* [http://www.cfr.org/publication/13391/ Council on Foreign Relations Backgrounder: Fatah al-Islam]
* [http://www.nbcamp.net/photos/thumbnails-6.html Fatah al-Islam Pictures]