NAHR Al BARED, Lebanon - Islamist militants shot dead a Lebanese soldier and one of their booby traps killed three other soldiers at a Palestinian refugee camp on Saturday, drawing fierce artillery shelling from the army.Al Qaeda-inspired Fatah Al Islam snipers gunned down the soldier and wounded three others at Nahr Al Bared camp in north Lebanon, scene of five weeks of battles. Shortly afterwards a booby-trap blast killed three more soldiers and wounded one, security sources said. The soldiers had been on a demining mission. The deaths were the first military fatalities since the army declared an end to major combat on Thursday and brought to 80 the number of troops killed in the fighting.
Heavy 155 mm artillery shells slammed into the heart of the camp where the militants had deployed after retreating from outlying positions captured by the troops. Militants responded with small arms fire and grenades, security sources said.