Lebanese troops have arrested 60 followers of the hard-line Takfiri cleric, Ahmad al-Assir

Lebanese troops have arrested 60 followers of the hard-line Takfiri cleric, Ahmad al-Assir, after heavy clashes in southern city of Sidon.

Lebanese army units have closed in on Takfiri gunmen holed up at a mosque complex in the southern port city on Monday, the second day of fighting that has left over 50 people dead.

The Lebanese military in a statement said the gunmen were using the religious compound to fire on its troops and had used civilians as shields.

The army says clashes erupted on Sunday after supporters of the Takfiri cleric opened fire without provocation on an army checkpoint in Abra, a neighborhood of the Sidon coastal city.

At least 17 soldiers and some 35 Takfiri gunmen died in the fighting that followed. Over a hundred others have also been wounded in two days of conflict.

Lebanon army has pledged to fight until it ‘finishes with’ the radical sheikh, who is a staunch supporter of militants fighting the Syrian government.

Assir was unknown just two years ago, but he gained prominence as the spillover into Lebanon from the conflict in neighboring Syria has escalated. The cleric is believed to have hundreds of armed supporters in Sidon involved in the fighting.

Tension has also spread to the north in Tripoli, Lebanon’s second largest city. Masked gunmen roamed the city center, firing in the air and forcing shops and businesses to shut down in solidarity with al-Assir.