Lebanese Rout Militants in Camp

Months of fighting leaves refugee camp in ruins
By Peter Fearon,  Newser Staff
Posted Sep 3, 2007 3:30 AM CDT
Lebanese Rout Militants in Camp
A Palestinian gunman directs the heavy traffic caused by the arrival of refugees who fled from the Nahr Al-Bared refugee camp to the near-by refugee camp of Baddawi in Tripoli, Lebanon. TheLebanese have finally won control of the camp from the militant Fatah al-Islam faction (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)   (Associated Press)

Jubilant Lebanese celebrated with soldiers yesterday after they finally wrested control of a besieged Palestinian refugee camp from an al-Qaeda ally, Fatah al-Islam. Lebanese special forces attacked strongholds that remained inside the ruins of the Nahr al-Bared camp near Tripoli after nearly three months of fighting, reports the London Times.

The battle to oust the militants of Fatah al-Islam, said to be backed by Syria, has boosted the image of the army in Lebanon, the one state institution not paralyzed by factionalism. It was a hard-fought battle. "They are good fighters," a Lebanese soldier said of the militants. "Most of them have fought in Iraq,” (More Lebanon stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X