Lebanon: Christian University threatened by al Qaeda linked group

Terroristic threats from Fatah-al-Islam litter the campus. (there's that pesky Islam again!)

The Christian-funded Balamand University in north Lebanon Tuesday took steps to increase its security after reports of a threat by a terrorist group.

A security source said a number of copies of a statement signed by Fatah al-Islam - a terrorist group linked to al-Qaeda - were found by students on the campus of Balamand University.

The security source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the statement 'threatened to bomb the university. 'We cannot ignore such a threat ... We are taking the necessary precautionary measures.'

There was no confirmation from the group, Fatah al-Islam, that it had produced the leaflet.

Last year, Fatah al-Islam fought a bloody three-month gunbattle ...

...with the Lebanese army at the northern Palestinian refugee camp of Nahr al-Bared which ended with many of the group killed and the others, including the leader, on the run.
Fatah al-Islam emerged in November 2006 when it split from Fatah al-Intifada (Fatah Uprising), a Syrian-backed Palestinian group based in Lebanon, which itself was a splinter of Yasser Arafat's mainstream organization Fatah.

Lebanese security officers dispute that it was a real split and allege that Fatah al-Islam is a part of Syrian intelligence security forces, and also has links with the al-Qaeda terrorist network, led by Osama bin Laden. Syria has denied any links with Fatah al-Islam.