German train bomber among defendants in Lebanon terror trial

Feb 17, 2009, 15:08 GMT

Beirut - A Lebanese military court on Tuesday began a trial in absentia of a terrorist group network that includes a man currently in a German jail for plotting an August 2006 train bombing, according to a court source.

The court is trying Shakir al-Abassi, the leader of Fatah al- Islam, and other members of his group. Members fought bloody battles in May 2007 with the Lebanese army in the Palestinian refugee camp of Nahr al Bared, 85 kilometres north of Beirut.

Among those being tried were two Saudis, a Palestinian, and Youssef Mohammed al-Hajj Dib, a Lebanese who was sentenced in absentia in Lebanon in 2007 for attempting to blow up trains in Cologne, Germany in 2006.

Al-Hajj Dib is currently in a German jail in Dusseldorf for plotting the failed bomb attacks. According to German police, the bombs, had they detonated, could have caused carnage on a scale seen in Madrid in March 2004 and in London in July 2005.

Commuter trains were bombed by Islamist extremists in Madrid in March 2004, claiming 191 lives. The London attacks in July the next year caused 52 deaths, plus those of the four suicide bombers.

Al-Hajj Dib's brother, Saddam, a member of Fatah al-Islam, was killed during clashes with the Lebanese army in Tripoli on May 2007.

The court source did not give more details about Youssef al-Hajj Dib and his role in the terrorist group, but said 'his name is associated with the Fatah al-Islam network.'

The suspects being tried in absentia are accused of setting up an armed ring to destabilize Lebanon.

They are also charged with inciting murder, conducting sabotage, possession of explosives and transport of unlicensed weapons.

Al-abassi, the Palestinian leader of Fatah al-Islam, and several other suspects are still at large.

Fatah al-Islam is a radical Sunni Islamist group which was formed in November 2006. It has been described as a militant group that draws inspiration from al-Qaeda. It became very well known in Lebanon in 2007 after it was engaged in combat with the Lebanese army in the Palestinian refugee camp of Nahr al Bared.

The Lebanese army managed, after a three-month battle, to kill most of the group's members and arrest the rest. But Al-abassi and about 10 of his closest aides managed to escape and are still at large.