Lebanese troops in 'final assault' on militants
By Harry de Quetteville at Nahr al-Bared
Last Updated: 10:25am BST 02/06/2007
The Lebanese army is fighting street to street with militants inspired by al-Qa'eda after launching an all-out assault on their stronghold.
"The army is determined this time to go ahead," said Marwan Hamade, a member of the Lebanese cabinet, as troops pushed into the Nahr al- Bared refugee camp in the north of the country.
Lebanese army vehicles: Lebanese troops in 'final assault' on militants
Lebanese army vehicles advance towards the Nahr al-Bared camp
Nineteen people, including three soldiers, were reported dead in the fighting.
The commando advance followed a full day of the heaviest fighting since the stand-off began almost two weeks ago between the Lebanese military and extremist Islamic fighters based at the refugee camp.
As night fell, echoes of sustained large explosions and long bursts of heavy gunfire rang out from the heart of the camp as the minarets belonging to its mosques peeped through a thick blanket of smoke.
Backed by constant bombardment from artillery positions on overlooking hills, the Lebanese army launched what seemed certain to be the final battle for control of the camp.
Fatah al-Islam militants, who have been besieged by the army for the past 10 days and have vowed to fight to the death, returned fire from inside the camp.
As the incessant bombardment continued, however, military sources said that Fatah al-Islam fighters did not put up as strong a resistance as expected, but instead fell back from positions on the edge of the camp further into its dense, urban heart.
Lebanese troops in 'final assault' on militants
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