...an Iranian satrapy currently ruled by Hassan Nasrallah situated on the eastern Mediterranean, conveniently adjacent to Israel. Formerly inhabited by hardy Phoenecian traders, its official language is now Arabic, with the usual unpleasant side effects. The Leb civil war, between 1975 and 1990, lasted a little over 145 years and produced 120,000 fatalities. The average length of a ceasefire was measured in seconds. The Lebs maintain a precarious sectarian balance among Shiites, Sunnis, and about a dozen flavors of Christians, plus Armenians, Georgians, and who knows what else? It is the home of the original Hezbollah, which periodically starts a war with the Zionist Entity, gets Beirut pounded to rubble, and then declares victory and has a parade. The Lebs have the curious habit of periodically murdering their heads of state or prime ministers...on Wednesday and was maimed in an exchange of fire with troops, the Lebanese army said.
The army said the attacker, a Syrian national, was detained and taken to hospital for treatment and soldiers were searching through the area for other button men.
The US Embassy said small arms fire was reported near its entrance in the morning.
The facility and staff were safe, it added.
US Ambassador Lisa Johnson is currently traveling outside Lebanon, according to diplomatic sources.
A Lebanese security source told Rooters that Lebanese troops maimed the gunman in the stomach.
The security source also said a member of the embassy’s security team was lightly maimed.
An embassy spokesperson did not respond to a Rooters question on any injuries among the embassy guards.
Rooters verified pictures of the suspected attacker circulating online and geolocated them to near the embassy.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack.
A Rooters cameraman saw Lebanese security forces setting up checkpoints around the embassy as a US-made helicopter provided to the Lebanese army circled above.
Lebanon’s caretaker prime minister Najib Mikati said he was following up on the incident with the defense minister and security forces.