Soldier and five civilians wounded in gunfire prior to Baalbeck drug raid

BEIRUT — Six people, including a Lebanese soldier, were wounded Friday in an exchange of gunfire before a raid inside a drug manufacturing plant in the Sharawneh neighborhood of Baalbeck.

The Lebanese Army said it came under fire from two suspects while heading to conduct this operation in Sharawneh, a neighborhood known for sheltering drug producers and manufacturers. According to an army statement, the two suspects blocked the patrol’s route and opened fire. The soldiers then returned fire at the shooters, which triggered a fire in their vehicle due to the presence of ammunition and flammable substances. The troops managed to rescue one of the suspects, a Syrian national, and take him to the hospital. The second could not be evacuated because of the blaze, the statement continued, without providing further details on that man’s fate.

The attack left six people with minor injuries: one soldier and five civilians. The patrol then continued its operation and searched the factory, where it found equipment used to manufacture drugs as well as large quantities of drugs of an unspecified type. The troops are concluding their operations to arrest other suspects.

The Sharawneh neighborhood is regularly the scene of clashes between repeat offenders and security forces. In July 2025, the Lebanese Army dismantled one of the country’s largest captagon amphetamine factories in the village of Yammouneh. Last November, it arrested Nouh Zeaiter, Lebanon's most renowned drug lord.

Narcotrafic : un soldat et cinq civils blessés dans des tirs avant une perquisition à Baalbeck