Lebanese security investigators have uncovered an alleged cross-border network involving former members of Bashar al-Assad's regime, raising concerns about a broader security operation stretching from Syria into Lebanon.

Judicial and security sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that five members of the network had been arrested—three Syrians and two Lebanese—while Lebanese security agencies continue searching for other suspected participants and working to establish the group's full structure.

According to preliminary findings reported by Nidaa Al-Watan, the Internal Security Forces' Information Branch, under the supervision of Public Prosecutor at the Court of Cassation Judge Ahmad Rami al-Hajj, has expanded its investigation into the detainees.

The network allegedly brought fighters from Syria into Lebanon through the northern border in small groups before moving them to Beirut's southern suburbs and then to training camps in the Baalbek-Hermel region of the Bekaa Valley, according to Asharq Al-Awsat.

The detainees reportedly told investigators that they received military training from Hezbollah fighters and operatives under the direction of a man known as “Hajj Alaa,” the newspaper said.

The alleged purpose of the training was to prepare the fighters for a possible confrontation with Syrian forces, while investigators are also examining whether the group was intended to carry out operations in Syria's coastal region or inside Lebanon.

From the Syrian Border to the Bekaa

Investigators believe the five detainees are only part of a broader network involving more than 50 former regime members and associates operating inside Syria, particularly in the coastal region, according to Asharq Al-Awsat. The network allegedly arranged the movement of fighters from Syria into Lebanon and monitored the movements of Syrian forces inside Syria.

According to preliminary information cited by the newspaper, the operatives were brought across the northern border in small batches, sometimes consisting of only five or six people, apparently to make the movement harder to detect.

After entering Lebanon, they were moved from the Akkar area to Beirut's southern suburbs to receive instructions before being transferred to the Bekaa for military training.

Nidaa Al-Watan reported that Talbireh, a town in Akkar near the Syrian border, served as a staging point for members of the network. From there, operatives were allegedly moved toward Beirut and later to the Bekaa.

The newspaper also reported that former Syrian Colonel Manaf Ali Safi used a coffee-selling business near the turnoff to Talbireh as a cover for his movements.

Asharq Al-Awsat identified Safi as one of the most prominent detainees and said he had previously been responsible for one of the security branches of the former Syrian regime.

The use of Talbireh as an assembly point adds a sensitive dimension to the investigation, suggesting the existence of organized routes for moving people and weapons across the Lebanese-Syrian border.

Possible Attack on the Bekaa

According to Asharq Al-Awsat, preliminary investigations showed that the detainees admitted receiving military training from Hezbollah personnel under the leadership of “Hajj Alaa.” The newspaper said the network was run by Major General Mohammed Jaber, a former commander of the Desert Hawks Brigade in the Syrian army who is now in Moscow and was known to be close to Assad.

The detainees reportedly said the stated purpose of the training was to prepare to confront a possible advance by Syria's current forces toward Lebanon's Bekaa region, according to judicial and security sources cited by the newspaper.

But investigators are examining whether that was the network's only objective.

The weapons seized from the group included hand grenades, machine guns, sniper rifles and explosives, according to the two reports. Asharq Al-Awsat said the nature of the arsenal had raised concerns that the group's mission could extend beyond military training.

Nidaa Al-Watan likewise reported that the type of weapons seized had opened the investigation to scenarios beyond preparations for a possible Syrian advance, including the possibility of attempts to create security unrest inside Lebanon or carry out assassinations.

The newspaper also reported concerns that the network may have been preparing groups to conduct security and military operations against Syria's current authorities in the coastal region and in Lebanon, with detainees allegedly disclosing plans to send operatives back into Syria after completing their training.

Three Hezbollah-linked individuals were also implicated in facilitating the entry and training of fighters, according to the reporting cited by Asharq Al-Awsat, while several other names remain under investigation.

Investigators are now seeking to establish the precise roles played by those suspected of handling recruitment, financing, transportation and training.

State Security Officer Among Detainees

The arrest of a Lebanese member of the network has added another sensitive dimension to the case.

According to Nidaa Al-Watan, one of the detainees is a member of Lebanon's State Security agency who had worked on the protection detail of the head of a prominent political movement.

Asharq Al-Awsat reported that the man was arrested at dawn on Wednesday after spending more than a week in hiding and that he had served as a bodyguard for the head of a Christian parliamentary bloc.

The sources cited by the two newspapers said he was the brother of another detainee and had helped move and conceal a cache of weapons that had been hidden in Talbireh.

The alleged involvement of a serving security officer is likely to increase scrutiny of the network's access to information, logistical support and official institutions, although investigators have yet to determine the full extent of his role.

Investigation Leads to Moscow

The investigation has also extended beyond Lebanon and Syria.

According to Nidaa Al-Watan, investigative leads point to Moscow, where Major General Mohammad Jaber is believed to be living. The newspaper said Jaber was the former commander of the Desert Falcons and a figure close to the ousted Assad regime, and that investigators suspect he may have been directing the network from abroad.

Asharq Al-Awsat likewise identified Jaber as the former commander of the Desert Hawks Brigade in the Syrian army and said he is currently in Moscow and was known to have close ties to Assad.

Jaber appeared in a television interview after the fall of the Assad regime in which he discussed his role in groups that fought forces affiliated with Syria's new authorities during clashes along the Syrian coast in March 2025, according to Nidaa Al-Watan.

The alleged existence of an external leadership structure, combined with operatives moving inside Syria and routes for transferring people and weapons across the Lebanese border, has led investigators to examine whether the group was part of a larger organization with separate roles for planning, recruitment, financing, transportation, training and operations.

Former Assad Officers Back in Focus

The case has also brought renewed attention to the presence of former Syrian regime officers and officials in Lebanon.

Since Assad's fall in December 2024, a number of former officers and officials have entered Lebanon.

Nidaa Al-Watan reported that Damascus asked Beirut in January to address the cases of more than 200 former officers and officials, amid concerns that Lebanese territory could be used as a base for organizing armed activity against Syria's new authorities.

Several weeks ago, Lebanon handed former Major General Adel Issa over to Syria in what was described as the first operation of its kind, as security and judicial coordination between Beirut and Damascus continued to develop, the newspaper reported.

Communication channels have also expanded between the Lebanese and Syrian interior ministries and security agencies, particularly on counterterrorism, arms and human smuggling, and intelligence sharing.

Against that backdrop, the alleged use of Lebanese territory as a refuge, training center or rear base for former Syrian officers and operatives working against Syria's current authorities would represent more than a domestic security breach.

It could also undermine the new relationship Beirut and Damascus are seeking to build—one based on ties between two independent states rather than the decades of Syrian tutelage and political intervention that shaped relations between them.

One Network Uncovered, but Are There Others?

The dismantling of the alleged network has not closed the case. Instead, it has raised broader questions about whether other groups may be operating along similar lines.

Investigators are seeking to determine whether the network has additional cells in Lebanon or Syria, whether other fighters received similar training and what operations the group was preparing to conduct, according to Asharq Al-Awsat.

The question is particularly significant given the reported existence of a wider network of more than 50 former regime members inside Syria and the alleged establishment of routes for moving personnel into Lebanon.