Lebanon judge issues arrest warrant for gunman with alleged Al-Qaeda ties

The gunman with ties to Al-Qaeda who shot at Lebanese troops during a standoff two weeks ago was served with an arrest warrant Tuesday for attempted murder. Military Investigative Judge Imad Zein issued an arrest warrant for Hani Shanti on charges of attempting to kill Lebanese soldiers and resisting members of the Internal Security Forces during a May 24 shootout with security forces in Caracas, west Beirut. Shanti, a Lebanese, was wounded in the faceoff with Lebanese security forces in the Beirut neighborhood of Caracas last month. He was served with the arrest warrant after being briefly taken out of hospital for interrogation, where he is being treated for wounds sustained in the incident last month. Following his interrogation, he was taken back to hospital. He belongs to a 13-member group affiliated with Al-Qaeda. According to the sources, Shanti was released from prison three months ago after serving five years for plotting terror attacks. By The Daily Star