The Dinnieh fighting () (30 December 1999 – 6 January 2000) involved the Sunni Islamist group Takfir wa al-Hijra and the

Lebanese Army The Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF; ), also known as the Lebanese Army (), is the national military of the Republic of Lebanon. It consists of three branches, the ground forces, the air force, and the navy. The motto of the Lebanese Armed Forces is ...

fighting for eight days in the mountainous Dinnieh region, east of the northern Lebanese port of

Tripoli Tripoli or Tripolis (from , meaning "three cities") may refer to: Places Greece *Tripolis (region of Arcadia), a district in ancient Arcadia, Greece * Tripolis (Larisaia), an ancient Greek city in the Pelasgiotis district, Thessaly, near Larissa ...

. Over a period of several days, an estimated 13,000 Lebanese army troops backed by tanks and artillery swiftly defeated the group of 200–300 rebels, driving isolated bands of surviving guerrillas into remote areas of north Lebanon. The Lebanese army reported a total of 12 soldiers killed in action, while 25 rebels were killed and 55 captured.

Group

The Dinniyeh Group was a group of 200–300 Islamist militants led by Bassam Ahmad Kanj. Kanj was a close associate of Raed Hijazi who had recently been indicted for his involvement in the millennium bombing plots in Jordan.

Attack

Starting at the close of December 1999, The Dinniyeh Group launched an attempt to create a Sunni Islamist mini-

state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

in northern

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

.">Ain al-Hilweh: Lebanon's "Zone of Unlaw" (June 2003)
The militants seized control of dozens of villages in the mountainous Dinniyeh district, east of

before being defeated by a force of 13,000 Lebanese soldiers in several days of intense combat.

Aftermath

After the fighting members of The Dinniyeh Group who were not killed or captured fled to

Ain al-Hilweh Ain al-Hilweh (, lit. meaning "sweet natural spring"), also spelled as Ayn al-Hilweh and Ein El Hilweh, is the largest Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon. It had a population of over 70,000 Palestinian refugees but swelled to nearly 120,000, as ...

. According to court documents from judicial proceedings against captured members, the group had received financial support from associates of

Osama bin Laden Osama bin Laden (10 March 19572 May 2011) was a militant leader who was the founder and first general emir of al-Qaeda. Ideologically a pan-Islamist, Bin Laden participated in the Afghan ''mujahideen'' against the Soviet Union, and support ...

through

bank account A bank account is a financial account maintained by a bank or other financial institution in which the financial transaction A financial transaction is an Contract, agreement, or communication, between a buyer and seller to exchange goods, ...

s in

Beirut Beirut ( ; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, just under half of Lebanon's population, which makes it the List of largest cities in the Levant region by populatio ...

and north Lebanon. In 2005, members of the group were released by a parliamentary resolution after the 2005 elections which also pardoned the most powerful anti-Syrian Christian leader

Samir Geagea Samir Farid Geagea (, , also spelled Samir Ja'ja' ; born 25 October 1952) is a Lebanese politician and former militia commander who has been the leader of the Lebanese Forces Lebanese Forces, political party and Lebanese Forces (militia ...

who was imprisoned 11 years earlier after being accused of involvement in the Saydet al-Najat Church Explosion (Lebanon, 1994)

References

Lebanese Army Operations Operations involving Lebanese special forces Conflicts in 1999 Conflicts in 2000 Wars involving Lebanon 1999 in Lebanon 2000 in Lebanon 2000 millennium attack plots Islamic terrorism in Lebanon Islamic terrorist incidents in 1999 Islamic terrorist incidents in 2000 Terrorist incidents in Lebanon in 1999 Terrorist incidents in Lebanon in 2000 January 2000 in Lebanon December 1999 in Lebanon {{Lebanon-stub