Lebanon captures 11 alleged Daesh militants

The Lebanese army has announced that one of its special units has conducted an operation near the Lebanese border with Syria, which led to the capture of 11 alleged members of the Daesh extremist group.

The army announced that the operation, which was launched today near the border town of Arsal, targeted a Daesh command centre. It said Ahmad Youssef Amoun, a local Daesh commander was captured after being seriously wounded.

According to the statement, no army personnel were injured.

The statement also says Amoun masterminded several Daesh terrorist attacks that have recently hit Lebanon, including the predominantly Shia southern suburbs of Beirut. He also partook in attacks against army positions in border areas.

Daesh has claimed responsibility for several explosions in Lebanon over the past two years that have killed dozens of civilians.

This comes a day after Qatar confirmed its support for the Lebanese army after the Qatari foreign minister arrived in Beirut on Wednesday.

A previous raid on Arsal was carried out in in August 2014, which resulted in Daesh capturing and holding nine Lebanese soldiers and policemen hostage.