Beirut: Authorities at the Rafiq Hariri International Airport in Beirut pledged to implement a new plan to enhance security in the aftermath of the bloody Istanbul Airport attacks that killed 43.
Ghazi Zoaiter, the Minister of Transport and Public Works warned extremists against assaulting Lebanon’s only sanctioned international air gateway, asserting that “any terrorist seeking to attack the airport should know ... that we will bring them down beneath the seventh ground.”
The declaration came two days after an unverified video emerged on social media networks claiming that the speaker represented Ahmad Al Assir, a firebrand cleric whose men clashed with the army in June 2013 — when 18 soldiers and 40 militants died.
On YouTube, a heavily masked and armed gunman forewarned that the group would target airplanes from Iran, allegedly because the latter carried weapons and other items destined for Hezbollah.
Iran Air has three round-trip flights each week from Tehran to Beirut.
Al Assir, who eluded authorities for two years, was arrested at the Beirut airport on August 15, 2015 as he attempted to leave Lebanon for Nigeria via Cairo.
The radical preacher used a fake Palestinian passport and a valid Nigerian visa but was intercepted by authorities before travelling.
Rafiq Hariri Airport continues to be a relatively secure facility although its proximity to Hezbollah strongholds have raised concerns in the past.
Lebanon’s Interior Minister, Nouhad Al Mashnouq, has pledged to step up security measures in light of what he deemed as “grave deficiencies”.
A $30m (Dh110 million) fence has been commissioned to be constructed around the airport as well as new surveillance cameras, scanner machines and explosive detectors.
But many Lebanese worry that the projects will be delayed or obstructed given the country’s current political paralysis.
