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Army, Zeaiter family members exchange gunfire in Bekaa

Army, Zeaiter family members exchange gunfire in Bekaa

Military personnel deployed on a road leading to the village of Arsal in the Bekaa Valley. (Credit: Joseph Eid/AFP)

BEIRUT — Military personnel and relatives of drug kingpin Nouh Zeaiter exchanged gunfire Thursday night at a Lebanese Army checkpoint in Hrabta, in the Bekaa Valley, L'Orient Today's correspondent in the area reported.

The army had set up a roadblock to ambush members of the Zeaiter clan, who refused to comply with military orders when they arrived, according to an army statement.

The two groups then exchanged gunfire, leaving one of the suspects seriously injured, after which he was hospitalized in Baalbeck. The army reportedly arrested two other members of the family and seized weapons from their cars.

The army statement did not mention any injuries.

Shootouts and other crimes have increased in Lebanon, including in the Bekaa Valley, as the country's economic collapse has left the state struggling to respond. 

Reporting contributed by Sarah Abdallah

BEIRUT — Military personnel and relatives of drug kingpin Nouh Zeaiter exchanged gunfire Thursday night at a Lebanese Army checkpoint in Hrabta, in the Bekaa Valley, L'Orient Today's correspondent in the area reported.The army had set up a roadblock to ambush members of the Zeaiter clan, who refused to comply with military orders when they arrived, according to an army statement.The two groups...