Last update - 00:00 24/06/2007
At least 10 killed in clashes between army, Islamic militants in Tripoli
By The Associated Press
At least six militants, two members of the security forces and two civilians were killed in clashes Sunday as the Lebanese army raided Islamic militants who have barricaded themselves in a residential neighborhood, security officials said.
A soldier, an off-duty policeman and two relatives were killed in the early morning battle. Six gunmen also were killed, reported the officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.
The clashes Saturday night and early Sunday in the Tripoli neighborhood of Abu Samra marked a new escalation in the army's battle with Islamic militants, as the fighting shifted once again from the bomb-ravaged, besieged Palestinian refugee camp of Nahr el-Bared on Tripoli's outskirts.
The clashes began with troops laying siege to a building where the gunmen had taken refugee after nighttime fighting in the area, the security officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.
The slain policeman happened to live in the besieged building. He confronted the gunmen, who killed him, his daughter and his uncle. At least 10 other people were wounded, the security officials said.
The affiliation of the slain militants was not clear, and officials could not tell whether they belonged to Fatah Islam or other groups.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.
Prior to Saturday evening, fighting had not occurred in Tripoli since the first week of the conflict with Fatah Islam militants at Nahr el-Bared, Lebanon's worst internal violence since the 1975-90 civil war.
Sunday's army fatality brought to 80 the number of soldiers killed in the northern battles. More than 150 have been wounded since fighting erupted on May 20. The fighting has claimed the lives of at least 60 militants and more than 20 civilians. Two Lebanese soldiers have also died in recent weeks in related clashes with militants around another Palestinian refugee camp, Ein el-Hilweh, in southern Lebanon.
The Tripoli gunbattle broke out Saturday night in the Abu Samra neighborhood as the Lebanese army pursued a suspected militant, who fired back, and soon thereafter, other gunmen opened fire at an army checkpoint nearby.
The army brought in reinforcements, and an expanded gun battle ensued, with witnesses reporting hearing explosions, indicating the use of rocket propelled grenades.
Officials have said a second suspected militant had been arrested earlier Saturday during a raid on a house in Tripoli.
The push against Islamic militants continued despite a government announcement that major combat in Nahr el-Bared was over.
Lebanese Defense Minister Elias Murr declared victory over the militants Thursday, and the army said the next day it had overrun Fatah Islam's main positions inside the camp.
But sporadic fighting has continued, and two top Fatah Islam leaders, Shaker al-Absi and his deputy, Abu Hureira, are still at large, along with an unknown number of fighters. They are believed to be holed up among the several thousand Palestinian civilians still inside sections of Nahr el-Bared not under army control.
The army issued a statement Saturday saying it would not halt its military offensive in the camp until those responsible for the deaths of soldiers are brought to justice.