A Lebanese Army vehicle deployed in Wadi Khaled, northern Lebanon, near the Lebanese-Syrian border. (Illustrative photo: Michel Hallak/L'Orient Today)
The Lebanese Army carried out a targeted strike at around midday on Tuesday on the mountainous area of Taraya, Baalbek (northern Bekaa). It targeted the homes of suspects who were the subject of arrest warrants issued by the judiciary, our correspondent in the region reports. The suspects resisted and fired at the army patrol, which returned fire. The clashes left the suspect S.H., wanted for gunfire and firearms trafficking, dead.
Later in the afternoon, an army patrol apprehended wanted suspects in the Charaouneh neighborhood of Baalbek. The army intervention escalated into clashes, including an exchange of gunfire and shelling. Two soldiers were wounded and taken to Dar al-Amal Hospital, according to our correspondent.
Numerous wanted individuals have found refuge in the Bekaa for years, taking advantage of a certain security laxity. The army has been stepping up its raids in the region, particularly in Baalbek, over the past several months.
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