Radio caller threatens Al Qaeda attacks on targets in Lebanon

BEIRUT - Two Lebanese radio stations Tuesday reportedly received calls from a person claiming to represent terrorist network Al Qaeda, threatening bomb attacks within that country.

The calls to the stations - identified as Radio Sawa and Radio al Mada by Lebanese media - coincided with a report published in Lebanese daily An Nahar earlier Tuesday that Al Qaeda militants were plotting terrorist attacks against state institutions and foreign missions in coordination with Fatah al-Islam.

Fatah al-Islam, (Conquest of Islam) is a radical Sunni Islamist group that was first formed in November 2006. It has been described as a militant jihadist movement that draws inspiration from Al Qaeda.

It became well known in Lebanon in 2007 after engaging in combat against the Lebanese Army in the Nahr al-Bared Palestinian refugee camp, in north Lebanon.

The US State Department classified the group as a terrorist organisation Aug 9, 2007.

Quoting a well-informed security source, An Nahar reported that Lebanese security agencies have also received information about the infiltration of Al Qaeda militants into the country from Pakistan via Turkey, Greece and the Lebanese-Syrian border.