LOC15:12
12:12 GMT
BEIRUT, May 20 (KUNA) -- The Lebanese army on Sunday shot down a
high-ranking officer within the Fatah Al-Islam group, after clashes broke out
in the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli.
A Lebanese military source told the Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) that the man,
known as Abu Mayzen, was the third assistant to the group leader Shaker
Al-Absi.
The group was reported to have infiltrated to Lebanon from across the
border and had taken refuge in one of the city's suburbs, in a Palestinian
refugee camp knows as Nahr Al-Bared.
The man, who is believed to be behind explosions that targeted civilian
buses in the Meten town of Ain Alaq earlier this year, was one of several
outlaws shot down in one of the city's streets during mopping-up operations by
Lebanese law and order forces.
The attack against the buses, which took place on February 13, 2007, killed
three Lebanese civilians and injured others.
According to latest reports, the law and order forces had succeeded in
restoring law and order to the city and various other northern Lebanon trouble
spots, where the group was also active, including Akkar.
However, members of the group who had left the refugee camp have escaped
and are now on the run in neighboring villages and bushes.
The Nahr Al-Bared camp, the main stronghold of the group, is said to be
cordoned off by the army, after seven of its soldiers were killed in the
clashes against at least nine dead from the group.
Meanwhile, Tripoli residents were cautioned to stay away from trouble spots
for their own safety.
Elsewhere in Lebanon, cautious calm prevailed as Lebanese army troops were
taking serious measures to enforce the law through setting up checkpoints on
highways and coastal roads converging on the capital Beirut, specifically the
Damascus Road.
Vans and buses were submitted to meticulous searches by the army.(end)
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KUNA 201512 May 07NNNN