Fatah al-Islam snipers claim two Lebanese soldiers as fighting rages on

Source: Lebanon Daily Star

NAHR AL-BARED/TRIPOLI: Sniper fire from Fatah al-Islam militants killed two Lebanese soldiers on Monday at the Nahr al-Bared refugee camp, as sporadic fighting continued in the southern part of the camp, where militants have been cornered by the army. Captain Fadi Ibrahim Abdullah, born in 1968, and Corporal Khaled Ahmed Talib, born in 1983, were killed on Monday, the army said in a statement.

The latest casualties brought the total number of people killed in the conflict to at least 180, including 83 soldiers, 60 militants and 37 civilians.

The army continued shelling the remaining militants hiding among crumbling buildings of the Nahr al-Bared camp.

In nearby Tripoli, residents were still shaken by a clash between militants and the army on Sunday.

"We are all families here," said Izdehar Hares, a mother of six who spent 10 hours hiding with her family in their bathtub early Sunday. Six armed militants were killed in the battle, part of the army's clampdown on armed Islamists in the North.

"No one and nowhere are safe anymore," said Hares.



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