Lebanese security conducts raids in search of suspects following arrest of hard-line cleric

BEIRUT – Lebanon's state-run National News Agency says security forces have conducted several raids near the coastal southern city of Sidon in search of suspects following the arrest of a hard-line Sunni cleric.

NNA says security forces are acting quickly Sunday following the arrest of Sheikh Ahmad al-Assir so that his supporters won't be able to escape.

Al-Assir was detained at Beirut's Rafik Hariri International Airport on Saturday as he was trying to flee the country in a disguise and using a forged passport.

Local TV stations reported that authorities collected DNA samples from al-Assir's parents to help confirm his identity.

Al-Assir, a firebrand anti-Hezbollah cleric, had been on the run since June 2013 after his armed supporters clashed with the Lebanese army in Sidon.