Five Lebanese soldiers injured in fresh Tripoli clashes

According to reports, several civilians and militants were also injured in Thursday clashes in Tripoli. A first lieutenant also sustained injuries during the fighting and is now in critical condition.

“The number of wounded soldiers has risen to five,” said a Lebanese security official, speaking on condition of anonymity, adding that “several gunmen have been injured, while others have been arrested.”

The identity and motive of the armed militants have not been revealed yet, but it is said that the fighting might have been related to the clashes between the Lebanese army and anti-Syria militants that killed at least four people in the city earlier in the day.

The deadly fighting took place after the Lebanese military forces attacked an apartment in the village of Aasun in the Dinniyeh region of Tripoli, said the country’s security sources.

The al-Qaeda-linked al-Nusra Front and the ISIL Takfiri militants overran the city of Arsal, situated 124 kilometers (77 miles) northeast of the capital, Beirut, in August, abducting more than three dozen soldiers and security forces. They have executed at least three of the hostages.

The Takfiri terrorists demand the release of a number of militants in Lebanese jails in exchange for the captive Lebanese soldiers and policemen.

Over the past months, Lebanon has been suffering from terrorist attacks by al-Qaeda-affiliated militants as well as random rocket attacks, which are viewed as a spillover of the conflict in Syria.

Syria has been gripped by deadly violence since 2011 with ISIL Takfiri terrorists currently controlling parts of it mostly in the east and north.

HK