allesennogwat
05-20-2007, 01:48 AM
Reuters-Sunday May 20
TRIPOLI, Lebanon - Lebanese troops battled militants linked to al Qaeda at a Palestinian refugee camp in northern Lebanon on Sunday and at least three soldiers were killed, security sources said.
At least four more soldiers were wounded in the clashes with militant group Fatah al-Islam at the Nahr al-Bared camp near the northern port city of Tripoli, the sources said.
There were also casualties among the militants, witnesses said. Lebanese television station LBC said three militants were killed in the fighting that started before dawn.
Fatah al-Islam gunmen also attacked a Lebanese army vehicle on patrol in the Koura region of northern Lebanon, wounding some soldiers, security sources said.
Witnesses said the rattle of assault rifles and machine guns could be heard, and thuds from explosions rocked the Nahr al-Bared area. A military source said the clashes began after an army post on the outskirts of the camp came under fire from Fatah al-Islam gunmen.
Security forces also clashed with gunmen in Tripoli itself while trying to arrest suspects in a bank robbery, security sources said. Four members of the security forces were wounded.
The Lebanese army cannot enter Palestinian refugee camps in line with a 38-year-old agreement but it had tightened its grip around the camp since authorities charged members of the group with carrying out a twin bus bombings in a Christian area near Beirut that killed three civilians in February.
Fatah al-Islam was formed last year by fighters who broke off from the pro-Syrian Fatah Uprising group.
Lebanese officials say the group is merely a front for Syrian intelligence in Lebanon, something both the group and Syria deny. Fatah al-Islam statements have appeared on Islamist Web sites known to publish al Qaeda statements.
TRIPOLI, Lebanon - Lebanese troops battled militants linked to al Qaeda at a Palestinian refugee camp in northern Lebanon on Sunday and at least three soldiers were killed, security sources said.
At least four more soldiers were wounded in the clashes with militant group Fatah al-Islam at the Nahr al-Bared camp near the northern port city of Tripoli, the sources said.
There were also casualties among the militants, witnesses said. Lebanese television station LBC said three militants were killed in the fighting that started before dawn.
Fatah al-Islam gunmen also attacked a Lebanese army vehicle on patrol in the Koura region of northern Lebanon, wounding some soldiers, security sources said.
Witnesses said the rattle of assault rifles and machine guns could be heard, and thuds from explosions rocked the Nahr al-Bared area. A military source said the clashes began after an army post on the outskirts of the camp came under fire from Fatah al-Islam gunmen.
Security forces also clashed with gunmen in Tripoli itself while trying to arrest suspects in a bank robbery, security sources said. Four members of the security forces were wounded.
The Lebanese army cannot enter Palestinian refugee camps in line with a 38-year-old agreement but it had tightened its grip around the camp since authorities charged members of the group with carrying out a twin bus bombings in a Christian area near Beirut that killed three civilians in February.
Fatah al-Islam was formed last year by fighters who broke off from the pro-Syrian Fatah Uprising group.
Lebanese officials say the group is merely a front for Syrian intelligence in Lebanon, something both the group and Syria deny. Fatah al-Islam statements have appeared on Islamist Web sites known to publish al Qaeda statements.