The long arms of the law has caught up with a top Islamic State cleric, Ahmed Al Assir, who has been on the run for two good years.
Lebanese authorities caught Mr. Al Assir at Beirut’s Rafik Hariri International Airport on Saturday while trying to board a flight to Egypt using a fake Palestinian passport.
Lebanon’s general security directorate said Mr Al Assir was planning on flying to Nigeria via Cairo.
Mr. Al Assir had recently adopted a new look, shaving his long, unkept beard and trading his usual religious robes and headwear for a more inconspicuous jacket and sweater.
Reports suggested Mr Assir had also had plastic surgery to alter his appearance.
Mr Al Assir became one of the most wanted men in Lebanon after his militia went to battle with the Lebanese army in the port city of Sidon in 2013, resulting in the deaths of 18 soldiers and dozens of Mr Al Assir’s gunmen.