Reuters AlertNet Lite - Lebanese soldier dies, army pounds camp from air

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Lebanese soldier dies, army pounds camp from air

20 Aug 2007 07:13:23 GMT
Source: Reuters

NAHR AL-BARED, Lebanon, Aug 20 (Reuters) - A Lebanese soldier died on Monday of wounds sustained in fighting with Islamist militants in north Lebanon, security sources said.

The army launched a series of air raids on the Fatah al-Islam militants, who are holed up in the Nahr al-Bared Palestinian camp where they have been fighting for three months.

The fighting, Lebanon's worst since the 1975-1990 civil war, has killed 139 soldiers, at least 100 militants and 41 civilians.

Army helicopters bombed the centre of the camp at least eight times on Monday, targeting an area where the al Qaeda-inspired militants are holed up, witnesses said.

Tanks also opened fire on the camp, much of which has been reduced to rubble. Most of Nahr al-Bared's 40,000 residents fled in the early days of the battle to the nearby Beddawi camp.

The army accuses the militants of triggering the conflict by attacking army positions on May 20. Fatah al-Islam has refused to give in to army demands for an unconditional surrender.

Fatah al-Islam shares al Qaeda's ideology but says it has no organisational ties to the network. More than 90 suspected members of the group have been arrested, including Lebanese, Palestinians, Saudis and Syrians, the security sources said.

Fatah al-Islam, led by a veteran Palestinian guerrilla, split from a Syrian-backed Palestinian faction last year.

The conflict has added to instability in Lebanon, where six U.N. peacekeepers and two anti-Syrian lawmakers have also been killed in attacks in the past eight months. A political crisis has also paralysed government in Lebanon since November.

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Last updated:Mon Aug 20 07:14:37 2007