Two Fatah al-Islam members and two fighters of the Syrian-backed Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command (PFLP-GC) surrendered, as Lebanese commandos made significant advances against the terrorists. A Lebanese soldier was killed Tuesday in clashes with Islamist fighters as the army closed in on the extremists' positions in a bombed-out refugee camp, a military spokesman said. "We have a martyr today. He was killed in the confrontations" with terrorists of the Islamist group Fatah al-Islam in north Lebanon's Nahr al-Bared camp, said the spokesman who did not wish to be identified. "We are continuing the operation. The army is extending its deployment to new positions in the camp where we are further tightening the noose on the gunmen to force them to surrender," he told Agence France Presse.
The battle which broke out on May 20 has now cost the lives of 101 soldiers, out of a total death toll of about 200. Dozens of militants have been killed, but the exact number is unknown as the group cannot be contacted. A military spokesman said three soldiers were killed in Monday's fighting with the Al-Qaida-inspired Sunni extremists around Nahr al-Bared.
80 or less Terrorists Left
Fatah al-Islam has lost its second in command Abu Hureira in the battle, according to Abu Nabil, the PFLP-GC chief for the camp who was among the four who surrendered, a senior official from his group said.
| Current mood of fleas: sad. :-( |