According information obtained by investigators, 10 percent of fighters enlisted by Fatah Al-Islam militant organization which faced off with the Lebanese army at Nahr Al-Bared, a Palestinian refugee camp run by UNRWA in north Lebanon, were Saudis, Al-Watan newspaper reported. The new revelations come five years after the conflict ended.

The conflict was the most severe internal fighting since Lebanon’s 1975–90 civil war. Fighting began in May 2007 after a police raid on a house in Tripoli which was apparently being used by militants from Fatah Al-Islam.

The militant group subsequently began shooting at the Lebanese security forces who returned fire, triggering clashes in the vicinity of the Nahr al-Bared. Militants then attacked a Lebanese military post at the gate of the camp, slaughtering 27 soldiers during their sleep, seizing several vehicles and also killing an undetermined number of civilians that came to the rescue of the Lebanese army. The fighting ended on Sept. 7, 2007, with the Lebanese army declaring victory.

Judge Ghasan Owaidat, who investigated the conflict, sought death sentence to some of the accused. He referred the suspects to the Judicial Council, the highest authority in Lebanon whose verdicts are final.

Of the 572 members of the organization, 62 were Saudi nationals. At least 27 Saudis were killed in the conflict, but the bodies of only 10 have been identified. Ten Saudis were arrested after the war, but four of them were released later. Arrest warrants have been issued against 25 others who were sentenced in absentia.

Saudi members played different roles ranging from coordinating with Al-Qaeda and recruiting new members to raising funds. Eight Saudis held leading positions in the organization while others were foot soldiers.