A photo of the security forces' operation in Roumieh prison, published on Twitter by

Charles Lister

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The interior minister’s tweet reads: “Communications show that part of the terrorist attack on Jabal Mohsen [the Alawite neighbourhood] was planified in Block B.”

Lebanese security forces evacuated a notorious prison wing on Monday which was believed to serve as a headquarters for jihadist prisoners. Nicknamed “the emirate”, the notorious Block B of Roumieh prison, near Beirut, was so dangerous that guards had been too afraid to enter it for months.At the end of Monday’s operation, the security forces transferred more than 900 occupants of Block B to another wing of the prison, one that is under the control of the prison’s authorities. The prisoners tried to fight back by blocking the doors with objects and hurling missiles at the policemen.Some of the prisoners were able to film the intervention and post the videos on social networks.The prisoners claimed that several of them were injured during the operation, but this was denied by the Lebanese authorities. They said it unfolded “calmly” – despite the fact that the videos clearly show otherwise.Lebanese authorities said that this operation had been planned for a long time. But according to the country’s interior minister, the decision to put it into action was taken when they intercepted telephone calls suggesting that Roumieh prisoners had taken part in the planning of a double suicide attack on a restaurant in an Alawite neighbourhood in the northern city of Tripoli.During the operation, security forces confiscated mobile phones, computers with Internet connections, and even weapons.Roumieh prisoners include members of several jihadist organisations, including the Al Nusra Front, which is al Qaeda’s Syrian branch, as well as the Islamic State group. The Al Nusra Front has reacted to the operation by threatening to execute Lebanese military personnel that they captured in August 2014.