Lebanese troops pounded a refugee camp in north Lebanon today where militants have been barricaded up for eight weeks after a soldier died today from injuries sustained yesterday.
The Fatah al-Islam militants fired at least two Katyusha-type rockets in reponse to the army attack at the coastal Nahr al-Bared camp.
Fighting at the camp for Palestinian refugees has caused the deaths of at least 219 people since May 20th, with soldier deaths alone nearing 100, making it Lebanon's worst internal violence since the 1975-1990 civil war.
Witnesses said the army fired artillery and tank shells at Nahr al-Bared while the militants responded with sniper fire and also fired two rockets, one of which failed to explode. The rockets landed in a nearby village but caused no casualties.
On Friday, the militants fired 18 of the 107 mm rockets, wounding two civilians and injuring a soldier who died today.
The military has since Thursday increased its bombardment of the besieged camp, anxious not to get sucked into a war of attrition with the well-trained and well-armed militants.
But the militants have responded fiercely, killing 11 soldiers and wounding 48 in the last three days.
At least 98 soldiers, 76 militants and 45 civilians have been killed in fighting with Islamist militants in the camp and other areas since May 20.