Conflicting reports emerged Thursday after state-run National News Agency’s initial claim that authorities arrested a Daesh (ISIS) militant being treated at a Bekaa Valley hospital for wounds sustained in recent clashes with the Lebanese Army in Ras Baalbek.
NNA identified the suspect as Hussein Ghorli, saying he is a Daesh commander who was also involved in the deadly clashes with the Army in Arsal last August.
It described him as “one of the most dangerous ISIS militants in the Qalamoun outskirts region.”
A Security source told The Daily Star Ghorli had been admitted to al-Manara Hospital in Hasbaya, west Bekaa, about 10 days ago.
NNA said Ghorli was arrested by a local police investigation unit. It did not say whether the suspect had been placed under arrest at al-Manara Hospital or moved to a police-protected wing at another hospital.
However, a Syrian rebel source told The Daily Star that Ghorli, a Syrian national, is a member of the Nusra Front, not Daesh.
The source said Ghorli was critically wounded in the head on Feb. 23 during clashes that broke out between Daesh and Nusra Front militants on the outskirts of Ras Baalbek.
Ghorli was first smuggled to the underdeveloped Hamed Farhat Hospital in the west Bekaa town of Kamed al-Loz before being moved to the more advanced al-Manar Hospital.
