Osbat al-Nour
Osbat al-Nour (Arabic: عُصْبَة ٱلنُّور, romanized: ʕuṣba(t) an-nūr 'Band of Light') is an armed Islamist group that professes allegiance to a Salafist interpretation of Islam.[1]
Ain al-Hilweh 2003
[edit]In May 2003 fighting broke out between members of Osbat al-Nour and Fatah militia members in the south Lebanon Palestinian refugee camp of Ain al-Hilweh as part of an ongoing series of battles for control of the Palestinian refugee camp.[2]
A serious clash took place on 17 May, after the near-fatal shooting of Osbat al-Nour leader Abdullah Shraidi,[3] in which one of Abdullah's bodyguards and a bystander were killed. The shooting occurred while they were returning from the funeral of Ibrahim Shraidi, a family relative though a member of Fatah, who had been gunned down by an unknown assailant.[4] About 200 Osbat al-Nour fundamentalist fighters attacked Fatah offices at Ain al-Hilweh. Eight people were killed (included six members of Yasser Arafat's Fatah movement) and 25 wounded in the fighting. Schools in the Ain al-Hilweh camp were shut and most stores kept their shutters down at the height of the fighting, which provoked an exodus by hundreds of camp residents.[5] Two months after the ambush Abdullah Shraidi died from wounds received during the attack.[3] Fatah agreed to a ceasefire after failing to defeat Osbat al-Nour in the camp.[3]
Links with al-Qaeda
[edit]Osbat al-Nour is said to be an offshoot of the larger Osbat al-Ansar, which is on the United States list of terrorist groups because of its alleged links to Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda.[6]
References
[edit]- ^ "Ain al-Hilweh: Al-Qaeda's Foothold in Lebanon". Terrorism Monitor. Vol. 2, no. 21. The Jamestown Foundation. 4 November 2004. Archived from the original on 12 October 2008. Retrieved 20 July 2006.
- ^ "Fighting in Lebanon refugee camp". Al Jazeera. Archived from the original on 20 December 2019.
- ^ a b c "It's Happening Global Discussion Forum - View Single Post - Lebanon". Archived from the original on 10 March 2007. Retrieved 20 November 2014.
- ^ "Fundamentalist Palestinian wounded, two dead in Lebanese camp". AIN EL-HELWEH, Lebanon. AFP. Archived from the original on 10 March 2007 – via Council of Lebanese American Organizations.
- ^ "Eight killed, 25 wounded in Lebanon refugee camp battle". Archived from the original on 11 March 2007. Retrieved 19 July 2006.
- ^ "IsraPundit".