Alleged thief kills ISF officer in exchange of fire

BEIRUT — An officer from the Lebanese Internal Security Forces was killed Saturday after being shot in a raid against an alleged thief in Karantina, the ISF said Friday.

In a statement, the ISF reported that Saturday night an armed thief broke into a house in Kaslik (Kesrouan) and stole a phone, cash and jewelry. When the owners woke up, the thief fired on them and fled. The owners then called the ISF to report the robbery, signalling that, according to the stolen phone's GPS tracker, the thief was heading towards Beirut.

ISF officers were dispatched near Karantina, in Beirut's northern suburbs, where they identified the suspect on a motorcycle. The suspect fired on police, who responded with gunfire of their own. One of the officers, Samah Assem Houssam al-Din, was injured in the exchange and was rushed to the hospital, where he later died from his injuries.

The motorcyclist fled the scene but was later apprehended on a Karantina street, where he was arrested after sustaining being shot in the leg. Officers said they seized an iPhone, $669, LL18 million, 140 euros and an unspecified amount of jewelry from the suspect.

Robberies have intensified since the onset of Lebanon's economic crisis, which the country's citizens have endured for more than three years. Officials maintain that the security situation is under control.