Lebanese forces killed an Islamic State leader on Thursday in an army operation in Arsal, north Lebanon, the mountainous border region with Syria.
Lebanese security source said in Beirut that the investigation revealed that the man was named as Nayif al-Shaalaan, and identified as Islamic State’s leader in the area.
It said the man at times also went by the name Abu Fawz.
Fighting between Islamic State and al Qaeda-linked Nusra Front militants often spills over Lebanon’s mountainous northern border with Syria, where conflict has been raging for five years.
Fighters briefly overran Arsal in 2014 before withdrawing to the hills after clashes with the army, which stages regular operations against Islamic State and Nusra Front in north Lebanon and along the border.
