Lebanese Police 'Shut Down' Beirut Prisoners Group Planning Terror Attacks

MOSCOW, January 12 (Sputnik) — Lebanese Internal Security Forces (ISF) raided the Roumieh prison in Beirut on Monday over inmates' connections to the recent suicide bombings in Tripoli's Jabal Mohsen district and shut down a group, planning terror attacks from prison, the country's interior minister said.

"The security forces launched the operation after contacts were detected at the Building B between a group of men and members of the Islamic State in the case of Jabal Mohsen," Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation International (LBCI) quoted Interior Minister Nouhad Mashnouq as saying at a press conference.

Mashnouq added that the network that planned terrorist attacks from the prison was "shut down" as a result of the special operation.

Prisoners of the notorious Roumieh detention facility, the country's largest prison, have an opportunity to communicate with the outside world, using the cell phones and the Internet. According to the security sources, some of the prison's 5,500 inmates are still involved in terror attacks against Lebanon.

"The state has accomplished a remarkable achievement and the 'legend' of Roumieh has ended," the Lebanese interior minister added, as quoted by the Lebanese broadcaster, noting that the security forces had been preparing the raid for three months.

According to LBCI, members of al-Qaeda — linked Nusra Front, which has taken responsibility for the twin blast in Jabal Mohsen, are imprisoned in Roumieh.

On January 10, a double suicide attack occurred in a crowded coffee shop in Tripoli's Jabal Mohsen district, killing nine and injuring 35 people.

Lebanon has seen a wave of violence since the beginning of the Syrian military conflict, as tensions spilled over from the neighboring state.