16 Facts About Fatah al-Islam

Fatah al-Islam is a radical Sunni Islamist group that formed in November 2006 in a Palestinian refugee camp, located in Lebanon.

Fatah al-Islam was led by a fugitive militant named Shaker al-Abssi, a Palestinian refugee who was born in Jericho in 1955.

Fatah al-Islam went to Iraq following the U S -led invasion in 2003 and fought alongside groups affiliated with al-Qaeda.

Fatah al-Islam is said to have become friends with a number of al-Qaeda leaders there.

Fatah al-Islam briefly returned to Syria, where he met again with al-Omla, who helped him relocate to Lebanon.

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In November 2006, Fatah al-Islam set up a headquarters in the Nahr al-Bared Palestinian refugee camp in northern Lebanon.

Fatah al-Islam supposedly has more than 150 armed fighters in the Nahr el-Bared camp.

Pro-Saudi Al Hayat newspaper reported that Fatah al-Islam has close ties to Syria, and that much of the leadership of Fatah al-Islam is made up of Syrian officers.

On 23 May 2007, the Arab League issued a statement "strongly condemn[ing] the criminal and terrorist acts carried out by the terrorist group known as Fatah al-Islam, " adding that the group has "no relation to the Palestinian question or Islam.

Attacks by Fatah al-Islam killed at least 27 Lebanese soldiers, 15 Fatah al-Islam militants and 15 civilians, injuring another 27 Lebanese soldiers and over 40 civilians.

Fatah al-Islam further mentioned that this group had launched several attacks against Palestinian refugees in Lebanon and called upon Palestinian refugees to "isolate this emerging group".

Thirty-nine Fatah al-Islam members were killed while attempting a mass pre-dawn break-out from the camp.

On 21 June 2007, Lebanese State Prosecutor Saeed Mirza filed criminal charges against 16 Fatah al-Islam members accused of carrying out bombings against two civilian buses that killed two people and injured 21 others near Ain Alaq, a Lebanese mountain village.

Syria alleged that Fatah al-Islam was behind the 27 September 2008 car bombing in Damascus, which left 17 dead.

Fatah al-Islam was traveling with two companions on the main road to Syria when he was ambushed by security forces in the town of Chtaura in east Lebanon.

New leadership of Fatah al-Islam has given enthusiastic support to the Syrian uprising.