Lebanese authorities say they have arrested a fugitive Sunni cleric who was wanted on suspicion of being involved in a deadly shootout with government troops past year.
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Assir seems to have modified his appearance when his true identity was discovered, the same reporters concluded.
Al-Assir has been on the run since June 2013 after his armed supporters clashed with the Lebanese army and killed 18 soldiers.
Al-Assir issued several audio messages and appeared in at least one video while he was in hiding.
In 2014, prosecutors sought the death sentences for Assir and 53 others, including singer-turned-fundamentalist Fadel Shaker.
In 2013, 12 Lebanese soldiers were killed when they stormed a mosque complex belonging to Assir in the southern city of Sidon.
Al-Assir, widely known as an anti-Hezbollah cleric, was holding a passport in the name of Rami Abdul Rahman Taleb, according to the Lebanese National News Agency.
Assir was a virtual political unknown until the outbreak of the Syria conflict in 2011. He condemned the party’s secretary-general, Hassan Nasrallah for allying himself with the Syrian government.
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Although he was born to a Shia mother, his discourse was highly sectarian and he often accused Lebanon’s army of failing to protect Sunnis and of being beholden to Hezbollah. More than 50 of his supporters were also charged with committing crimes against the military.
