As economy collapses, some young Lebanese turn to militancy

By BASSEM MROUE and FAY ABUELGASIM
Associated Press

WADI NAHLEH, Lebanon (AP) — Dozens of young men from Lebanon’s impoverished north have disappeared in recent months, often re-emerging with the Islamic State group in Iraq. The flow has raised fears that Lebanon’s economic collapse is fueling a new wave of radical recruitment, with IS taking advantage of growing frustration and despair. On Sunday, Iraq’s military struck an IS cell, killing nine militants, including a number of Lebanese, all of whom had recently disappeared from a single village near the city of Tripoli. Lebanon has plunged deeper into poverty over the past months. The local currency has collapsed, the value of salaries and bank accounts has evaporated, and prices have soared.