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

Lebanese Army ) , founded = 1 August 1945 , current_form = 1991 , disbanded = , branches = Lebanese Ground Forces Lebanese Air Force Lebanese Navy , headquarters = Yarze, Lebanon , flying_hours = , websi ...

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

Lebanese Lebanese may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the Lebanese Republic * Lebanese people The Lebanese people ( ar, الشعب اللبناني / ALA-LC: ', ) are the people inhabiting or originating from Lebanon. The term may al ...

port of

Tripoli Tripoli or Tripolis may refer to: Cities and other geographic units Greece *Tripoli, Greece, the capital of Arcadia, Greece *Tripolis (region of Arcadia), a district in ancient Arcadia, Greece * Tripolis (Larisaia), an ancient Greek city in t ...

. 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 Born in California,'' El Paso Times'', "Suspected operative for al-Qaida held at center in El Paso", December 31, 2008 Raed Hijazi was one of four men, along with Mohamad Elzahabi, Nabil al-Marabh and Bassam Kanj, who met each other at the Khalde ...

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 an Islamist mini-

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * '' Our ...

in northern

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to Lebanon–Syria border, the north and east and Israel to Blue ...

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

Dinniyeh Danniyeh (known also as Addinniyeh, Al Dinniyeh, Al Danniyeh, ar, الضنية) is a region located in Miniyeh-Danniyeh District in the North Governorate of Lebanon. The region lies east of Tripoli, extends north as far as Akkar District, south ...

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 ( ar, عين الحلوة, lit. meaning "sweet natural spring"), also spelled as Ayn al-Hilweh and Ein al-Hilweh, is the largest Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon. It had a population of over 70,000 Palestinian refugees but swel ...

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

bank account A bank account is a financial account maintained by a bank or other financial institution in which the financial transactions between the bank and a customer are recorded. Each financial institution sets the terms and conditions for each type o ...

s in

Beirut Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint o ...

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 ( ar, سمير فريد جعجع Lebanese pron.: , also spelled Samir Ja'ja'; born 25 October 1952) is a Lebanese politician and militia commander who has been leading the Lebanese Forces party and dissolved militia si ...

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 Millennium attack plots Islamic terrorist incidents in 1999 Islamic terrorist incidents in 2000 Terrorist incidents in Lebanon in 1999 Terrorist incidents in Lebanon in 2000 {{Lebanon-stub