Another Victory in the GWOT!

Lebanon Army Pursuing Remaining Fatah Islam Militants
Friday, June 22, 2007


BEIRUT, Lebanon — The Lebanese military said Friday it had largely defeated Al Qaeda-inspired Islamic militants, overrunning their positions inside a Palestinian refugee camp, but gunfire and artillery blasts continued as troops pursued remaining fighters.


The two top leaders of the Fatah Islam militant group, Shaker al-Absi and his deputy, Abu Hureira, were still at large, along with an unknown number of fighters. They are believed to be holed up among the several thousand Palestinian civilians still inside sections of the Nahr el-Bared camp not under army control.

In a statement, the army said it had "completed its control over main (Fatah Islam) positions and was tightening the noose around the group's remaining fugitive members" holed up inside the camp near Lebanon's northern port city of Tripoli.

Nahr el-Bared's monthlong battle has been Lebanon's worst internal violence since the 1975-90 civil war, killing 76 soldiers, at least 60 militants and more than 20 civilians. It came amid a fierce political power struggle between the Western-backed government and the militant Hezbollah-led opposition.

The army statement Friday did not give details, but cited major achievements and said it will "not allow the hands of the clock to be turned back."