RAS BAALBEK, Lebanon: In the dark of night a group of around 10 armed men donning military fatigues and carrying Kalashnikovs gathered at a house near the edge of Ras Baalbek, close to where Islamist militants have tried to infiltrate the town on a few occasions.

 

“We have welcomed many Syrian refugees and I believe they are like our family,” said Rifaat Nasrallah, the group’s leader. “However, some are using the refugee status to enter Lebanon and in reality they are members of terrorist groups.”

 

Ras Baalbek is a Greek Catholic town in Lebanon’s northeast with a population of 15,000 people. A set of mountains is all that separates the town from Arsal, where the Lebanese Army has been at battle with Islamist militants from the Nusra Front and ISIS. Unlike in Syria where Nusra and IS have regularly clashed, the two groups are thought to be coordinating in the region along the Lebanese border.  [Link]