The entrance to the US Embassy in Awkar, north of Beirut. (Credit: Mohammad Yassin)
BEIRUT — The United States embassy in Lebanon Sunday denied local media reports claiming that the embassy had itself arrested suspects implicated in shots fired at the mission's headquarters earlier this week.
"We are aware of these reports," US embassy spokesperson Jake Nelson told L'Orient Today. "We can confirm that embassy personnel did not arrest any individuals or take anyone into custody. We would refer you to the Lebanese authorities for further questions."
Earlier this week, a man with a Kalashnikov fired more than a dozen rounds at the US embassy in Awkar. No injuries were reported.
The shooting coincided with the anniversary of a deadly 1984 car bombing outside the US embassy's Beirut annex, which Washington blamed on the Iran-backed Hezbollah.
US diplomatic and military missions in Lebanon were attacked on a number of occasions during the 1975-1990 Civil War, when Islamic fundamentalists also kidnapped several US citizens.
The embassy relocated to Awkar after it was struck by a suicide attack in April 1983 that killed 63 people.