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Photo: EPA
Syiran tensions spill over into Lebanon
Photo: EPA

Lebanon army fights gunmen in Tripoli, two soldiers killed

Lebanese soldiers clash with Islamist after two militants were killed and six soldiers wwounded during earlier fighting in Tripoli late Friday.

Two Lebanese soldiers died from their wounds on Saturday as the army clashed with Islamist gunmen in the northern city of Tripoli for a second day, trying to uproot the militants from the Old City.

 

 

According to Lebanon's Daily Star, a "tenuous calm" came into place in Tripoli Saturday afternoon, despite the expiration of a two-hour ceasefire, before which soldiers exchanged heavy fire with the gunmen, whose exact affiliation was unclear, in the morning and moved in on their positions in the afternoon, security sources told Reuters. Two civilian was also killed in the fighting.

 

Clashes in Tripoli (Photo: EPA)
Clashes in Tripoli (Photo: EPA)

Three soldiers were wounded in a nearby incident when gunmen opened fire on an army vehicle near the northern village of Bahneen, the sources said. One soldier later died from his wounds.

 

According to the Daily Star, the fighting killed two civilians, a Lebanese man identified as Abdou al-Masri and his son Taha, and wounded roughly 20 people, including eight soldiers. According to the report, six militants were also killed and 25 arrested.

Photo: Reuters
Photo: Reuters

 

At least two militants were killed and six soldiers were wounded during earlier fighting in Tripoli late on Friday. One of the soldiers died from his wounds on Saturday.

 

Tripoli has seen some of the worst spillover from the 3-1/2-year-old war in neighboring Syria, whose border is only about 30 km (20 miles) north up the coast from the ancient port city. Gun battles and bombings linked to the conflict have regularly broken out.

 

In statements published by the National News Agency, the army leadership said: "The pursuit of terrorist gunmen in Tripoli is continuing and will not be pulled back until after the terrorists are eliminated."

 

Tripoli has long been a stronghold for hardliner Sunni Islamists, many of whom accuse Lebanon's army of working with Shiite movement Hezbollah, which has sent fighters to aid Syrian President Bashar Assad, a member of the Shiite-derived Alawite minority, against majority Sunni rebels.

 


פרסום ראשון: 10.25.14, 18:44
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