(BEIRUT, LEBANON) — Islamic State militants are planning to extend their command to Lebanon and declare an “Islamic emirate” there, according to Beirut-based newspaper The Daily Star.
“ISIS is preparing military plans to declare an Islamic emirate in Lebanon very soon to serve as a geographical extension of the so-called ‘Islamic State’ announced by Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in Iraq last year,” security sources told the newspaper.
“ISIS fighters have demanded support from the militant group in northern Syria to achieve this goal,” the sources said.
The report adds that jihadists are preparing to establish a military committee that will oversee “Lebanese affairs” while “considering Lebanon as part of its state.”
It also revealed plans to actively recruit suicide bombers to “target Shiite gatherings in Beirut and the southern suburbs, as well as French and Western interests.”
The Iranian embassy in Beirut, which was previously targeted in November 2013, is particularly vulnerable to a suicide attack, according to sources.
The news comes amid reports that ISIS has been adding fighters in Syria’s Qalamoun province, which is near the border of Lebanon.
ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was reportedly not yet interested in seeking a takeover in Lebanon, but instead was plotting to target a string border towns that support Hezbollah, which has fought ISIS in Lebanon and Syria.
Several countries have military pledged aid to the Lebanese Army, including the United States, which donated $25 million worth of military equipment on February 8.
In addition to the Lebanese Army, many Lebanese Christians near the border of Syria have been arming themselves to defend their land and families.
WATCH Russia Today’s report about newly-formed Christian militias: