The station added that the incident happened amid “a clash that erupted between security force members and prisoners… during a routine inspection.”

“The clashes that took place early in the morning injured one [guard].”

A number of riots have erupted in Roumieh Prison in 2010, including a series of disturbances in April when detainees demanded a general amnesty, timely trials, and the improvement of prison conditions.

Qortbawi condemned riot

Justice Minister Shakib Qortbawi condemned on Friday the riots that erupted earlier in the day in Lebanon’s Roumieh prison.

Qortbawi told the Voice of Lebanon radio (100.5) that “the number of security force members assigned to guard politicians should be reduced in order to increase the number of prison guards.”

He also called for putting Fatah al-Islam rioters on trial.

Update: The Lebanese army stepped in to end the riot
One Lebanese security officer was released by the rioters
4 members of the Internal security forces and 4 Fatah al Islam inmates were wounded in the clash according to Future TV

The statement added that security forces will continue searching for the remaining 4 fugitives : Abdel Aziz Masri, Abdullah Shukri, Mohammad ad-Dousari, and Abdel Nasser Soueid Sanjar.

Roumieh, the oldest and largest of Lebanon’s overcrowded prisons, has witnessed sporadic prison breaks in recent years and escalating riots over the past months as inmates living in dire conditions demand fairer treatment.

In the summer of 2007, the Al-Qaeda-inspired Fatah al-Islam led an uprising against the army in the Palestinian refugee camp of Nahr al-Bared in northern Lebanon. The uprising resulted in the death of over 400 people, including 168 soldiers

The militant group is also accused of being behind twin bus bombings in a Christian suburb northeast of Beirut that left three dead and close to 20 wounded in 2007.

The clashes erupted between members of the Fatah organization and Jund al-Sham, an Islamist group operating inside the camp, which is located on the outskirts of Lebanon’s southern city of Sidon.

The camp, a haven for outlaws and extremist groups, witnessed on Friday an unsuccessful attempt on the life of the head of Fatah ’s military wing inside the camp, Colonel Mahmoud Abdel-Hamid Issa, better known as “Lino”.

The security source said Lino was targeted by another Islamist group banned by the Lebanese authorities, Fatah al-Islam.

Palestinian security authorities have shot and arrested two members from Fatah al-Islam as they tried to plant a bomb outside Lino’s office.

In 2007, the Palestinian refugee camp of Nahr al-Bared in north Lebanon was reduced to rubble and thousands of Palestinians and Lebanese were forced to flee in violent clashes between the Lebanese army and Fatah al-Islam.

The source said violent clashes in Ain al-Hilweh were ongoing Saturday.

Trend

The officials say the operations are concentrated in wide areas of the eastern Bekaa Valley, where the seven cyclists were abducted Wednesday.

They said Saturday that authorities were setting up checkpoints, closing roads and conducting helicopters patrols.

They spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations barring them from talking to journalists.

They added that a team of French and Estonian experts is taking part in the investigation as of Saturday.

The officials say the motive behind the kidnapping is not clear.

Lebanon witnessed many abductions during the country’s 1975-90 civil war. AP

” is not true and only serves those keen on destabilizing Lebanon. The group has never and will never resort to such actions.” According to a statement.

The denial comes after a security source told Kuwaiti newspaper al Anbaa that most probably the Estonians were kidnapped by Fatah al-Intifada, a Palestinian militant faction founded by Col. Said al-Muragha ( better known as ‘Abu Musa’…see photo ) , with Syria’s support .

In a related development MP Jamal al-Jarrah told Voice of Lebanon radio on Saturday that the Lebanese security forces have more leads concerning the abduction of the Estonians.

The Estonians were reportedly kidnapped   30 minutes after crossing the Syrian border into  Lebanon. One Lebanese Internal Security source told MTV following the search for the Estonians  : “The seven Estonians were likely kidnapped and taken to Syria.”

According to reports that could not be independently confirmed , The Syrian government asked its Palestinian and Hezbollah allies to kidnap the Estonians , who arrived in Lebanon on bicycles,   and return them to Syria.  One of the vehicles used in the abduction is registered in the name of a citizen from the southern town of Qana, a Hezbollah stronghold and the Syrian backed PFLP-GC ( Palestinian militant group ) has a base near the Lebanese Syrian borders . According to the report Syria was concerned that the tourists may have  taken  pictures of the anti-government  protests in Syria.

Fatah al islam
Fatah al-Islam split from Fatah-Intifada in November 2006 , reportedly also with Syria’s help

In 2007 Fatah al-Islam fought the Lebanese army from its stronghold in the Nahr al-Bared refugee camp near the northern port city of Tripoli.

More than 400 people, including civilians, died in three months of clashes between the two sides before the Lebanese army took control of the camp.

According to Al Hayat newspaper reports , Fatah al-Islam has close ties to Syria, and much of the leadership of Fatah al-Islam is made up of Syrian officers.

The report said that the two prisoners attempted their escape from Roumieh Prison by climbing over a wall. However, one fell to the ground, breaking bones severely and caught by security forces, the other prisoner eluded the police and fled.

Northeast of Beirut, Roumieh Prison is the largest and most notorious Lebanese prison which regularly holds nearly 5,500 prisoners. A wide man hunt is underway for recapture of the escaped prisoner.

Fatah Islam is a radical Sunni islamist group which became well- known in 2007’s summer after engaging in conflict against the Lebanese Army in the Nahr al-Bared Palestinian refugee camp in northern Lebanon. The United States classified the group as a terrorist organization on August 9, 2007. Peoplesdaily

The Washington-based SITE Intelligence Group, which tracks militant postings on the Internet, said Wednesday that a statement on jihadist forums from the Fatah Islam group confirmed the deaths of the two.

The statement, posted Tuesday, said the two were en route to join an al-Qaida front group in Iraq. The Lebanese military had said they were gunned down Saturday in a firefight with security forces in Lebanon’s eastern Bekaa Valley.

They were identified as Abdul-Rahman Awad, a Palestinian leader of the Fatah Islam and one of the most wanted men in Lebanon, and his aide, Ghazi Faysal Abdullah, also known as “Abu Bakr.”

The militants’ statement noted that Awad had sent his son to Iraq two months ago to carry out a suicide bombing, SITE said.

Hundreds of foreign fighters have gone to Iraq in the past to join insurgents there but their flow is believed to have decreased recently, in part because border smuggling is more difficult and al-Qaida is thought to lack funds for new recruits.

Fatah Islam was little known before it fought a three month battle against the Lebanese army in 2007. About 220 militants and 171 soldiers were killed in the fighting. Palestinian officials said 47 civilians had died.

Fatah Islam was also blamed for deadly blasts that killed more than a dozen Lebanese soldiers in the northern city of Tripoli two years ago, as well as an attack on U.N. peacekeepers near Lebanon’s border with Israel.

Lebanon stepped up pressure on the group after the 2007 clashes, and last year, a Lebanese military court convicted 12 Fatah Islam members of carrying out terrorist acts. Five of the men — including Awad — received life sentences in absentia.AP

Awadh and his associate Abu Bakr Mubarak were killed on Saturday by the Lebanese army intelligence unit in the Bekaa town of Chtaura.

Toufiq Tah was chosen as al-Shahabi’s assistant, according to Palestinian security sources. A man known as Khardaq was now the terrorist groups’ military and security official, the sources said.

Brothers Haitham and Mohammed al-Shaabi were also part of the new leadership. They are the brothers of Abu Huraira’s wife.

Abu Huraira was a Fatah al-Islam military commander during the Nahr al-Bared battle between the terrorist group and the Lebanese army. He was killed in the summer of 2007 when he refused to stop at a police checkpoint in Tripoli.

Sources told al-Hayat that Awadh’s brother Mohammed Hassan, who is known as Sunbol and belongs to the Fatah movement, identified Abdel Rahman’s body.

While the sources told the daily that the bodies of Awadh and Mubarak haven’t been handed over to their families, Future News reported that both families were informed that the militants would be buried outside Ain el-Hilweh refugee camp to avoid any security disturbance during their burial.

The date of the funeral hasn’t been set yet, Future News said. Naharnet

Photo:Fatah al-Islam , the al Qaeda linked terrorist group named today Osama al-Shahabi as its leader to replace Abdel Rahman Awadh (pictured) , who was killed last Saturday
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“Abdul Rahman Awadh, one of the key leaders of Fatah al-Islam,” was killed along with another militant known as Abu Bakr during clashes in the eastern Bekaa Valley region, the spokesman said.

A judicial source said Abu Bakr was Awadh’s key deputy who provided military training to members of the shadowy group said to be inspired by al-Qaida.

In 2007, Fatah al-Islam fought a fierce battle against the Lebanese army at the Nahr al-Bared Palestinian refugee camp in northern Lebanon that lasted more than three months and cost 400 lives, with 168 soldiers among the dead.

Judicial authorities accuse Awadh of having “incited” militants to carry out attacks two years ago in the port city of Tripoli, near the Palestinian camp, that killed 21 people, including 13 soldiers.

Those found guilty of incitement to carry out deadly attacks can face the death penalty under Lebanese law.

Awadh, one of the most wanted Islamists in Lebanon, opened fire at troops along with his comrade and the soldiers responded killing the pair, the spokesman said.

The clash broke out in the Bekaa Valley town of Chtaura and both men were travelling on false identities, the army said.

Earlier, the spokesman said the army had been pursuing the pair since they emerged from another Palestinian refugee camp, Ain al-Hilweh in south Lebanon, but he did not give a timing.

Several extremist groups are suspected of having taken refuge in the north and east of the country, and in the 12 Palestinian camps scattered across Lebanon of which Ain el-Hilweh is the largest.

Awadh had been sheltering in Ain el-Hilweh for more than a year, according to the army, and is considered by some as the head of Fatah al-Islam.

Authorities also charge that the wanted Islamist was monitoring the movements of Lebanese army troops as well as of U.N. peacekeepers stationed in south Lebanon.

In August 2007, the U.S. State Department designated Fatah al-Islam, which denies formal links with al-Qaida, as a “terrorist” group.

Shaker al-Abssi, the head of Fatah al-Islam at the time of the Nahr al-Bared showdown won by the army, also figures among the top wanted Islamists but appears to have since fled the country.

Earlier Saturday, an Army Command-Orientation Directorate statement said: “After surveillance and inquiries, an Army Intelligence Directorate patrol managed to identify the location of two terrorists and to track them down, and when the patrol tried to arrest them in Chtaura’s square this morning, they opened fire on the patrol’s members who responded by shooting back, leaving the two terrorists dead.”

“Their bodies were moved to one of the region’s hospitals and the weapons and fake ID cards in their possession were confiscated, as investigations got underway,” the statement added.

Future News TV reported that two Palestinians wanted on terrorism and forgery charges were killed during a chase with security forces in the Bekaa town of Chtaura.

A third suspect managed to flee the scene, Future News added.

Naharnet

At a ceremony at the UNRWA Field Office in Beirut, Sison commended “the strong cooperation between UNRWA, the government of Lebanon, their many partners, and the Palestinian refugee community, as the reconstruction of the camp and surrounding areas moves forward.”

“The United States remains committed to supporting these vital partnerships, with each component — the Lebanese, the Palestinians, the U.N., and the international community — each contributing to ensuring that the critical needs of Palestinian refugees and Lebanese civilians affected by the fighting are met, until the process of reconstructing Nahr al-Bared camp is complete,” Sison added.

According to a statement issued by the U.S. Embassy in Beirut, $18 million from the donation will be used in the physical reconstruction of the Nahr al-Bared camp. The remaining $2 million will go towards relief and recovery support, which will allow UNRWA to continue providing essential health, relief, housing and education services to the displaced refugees until they can return to the reconstructed camp.

“The United States is the largest bilateral donor to UNRWA, with the total U.S. contribution to UNRWA for 2010 now reaching $115 million. This donation brings the total United States contribution for the Nahr al-Bared project to $91.8 million since 2007: $66.5 million for reconstruction and $25.4 million for relief assistance, including for the construction and equipping of a temporary health center in the area adjacent to the camp,” added the statement of the embassy.

Nahr el Bared camp was destroyed in 2007 during a 106 day battle between the Lebanese army and Fatah al Islam terrorists . The battle started on May 19 and ended on Sunday September 2, 2007 with the Lebanese Army taking full control of the camp after eliminating terrorists surrendered and fled . Naharnet / Ya Libnan