Lebanon

Gunmen kill 3 Lebanese soldiers, escape across Syria border

Armed men kill three soldiers in eastern Lebanon

Armed men have killed three Lebanese soldiers at a military checkpoint in Bekaa Valley, eastern Lebanon, military sources say.

The assailants opened fire on the Lebanese soldiers near the town of Arsal on Tuesday. Two of the soldiers died in the attack, while a third died after being transferred to a hospital.

The border areas around the town are being used by militants operating against the Syrian government to smuggle weapons and armed groups from Lebanon into Syria.

On Monday, three mortar shells fired by the foreign-backed militants in Syria hit residential neighborhoods in Bdaita, on the outskirts of Hermel in northern Bekaa Valley. A 17-year-old girl was killed and a woman was wounded in the attack.

Two rockets also hit the southern district of Zahyieh in Lebanon’s capital, Beirut, on May 26, injuring several people. In another incident on the same day, four mortars slammed into the heart of Hermel, which is situated about 100 kilometers (62 miles) northeast of Beirut.

The incidents in Lebanon came amid recent deadly clashes between supporters and opponents of the Syrian government in the country’s northern city of Tripoli.

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