Fighting continues in Lebanon

TRIPOLI – Lebanese troops tightened a siege of a Palestinian refugee camp yesterday, pounding the camp with artillery as new signs emerged that their target – a shadowy militant group with ties to al Qaeda – had been training fighters inside the camp for attacks on European and perhaps US targets.

The death toll climbed to near 50, with the number of civilians killed inside the camp unknown. One militant killed in the two days of fighting, Saddam El-Hajdib – the fourth-highest ranking official in the Fatah Islam group that began operating from the refugee camp last fall – was a suspect in a failed German train bombing last summer, said a Lebanese security official.He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak to the media.Hundreds of Lebanese army troops, backed by tanks and armoured carriers, surrounded the Nahr el-Bared refugee camp on Tripoli’s outskirts early yesterday.M-48 battle tanks unleashed their cannon fire on the camp, sending orange flames followed by white plumes of smoke.The militants fired mortars toward the troops at daybreak Monday.At least 27 soldiers and 20 militants had been killed, Lebanese security officials said Monday, but they did not know how many civilians had been killed inside the camp because it is off-limits to their authority.One official in the camp said a total of 34 people had been killed inside the camp, including 14 civilians.But that could not be independently confirmed, and other estimates of civilian deaths were lower.A spokesman for Fatah Islam, Abu Salim, warned yesterday that if the army bombardment did not stop, the militants would step up attacks by rockets and artillery “and would take the battle outside Tripoli.”He did not elaborate on the threat, holding authorities responsible for the consequences.”It is a life or death battle.Their aim is to wipe out Fatah Islam.We will respond and we know how to respond,” he told The Associated Press.Earlier in the day, another refugee camp, Ein el-Hilweh in southern Lebanon, was tense after Lebanese troops surrounded it and armed militants went on alert.An army officer at the frontline, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak to the media, said troops were directing concentrated fire at buildings inside the Nahr el-Bared refugee camp known to house militants.The army officer said troops also had orders to strike hard at any target that directed fire back at them.Nampa-APOne militant killed in the two days of fighting, Saddam El-Hajdib – the fourth-highest ranking official in the Fatah Islam group that began operating from the refugee camp last fall – was a suspect in a failed German train bombing last summer, said a Lebanese security official.He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak to the media.Hundreds of Lebanese army troops, backed by tanks and armoured carriers, surrounded the Nahr el-Bared refugee camp on Tripoli’s outskirts early yesterday.M-48 battle tanks unleashed their cannon fire on the camp, sending orange flames followed by white plumes of smoke.The militants fired mortars toward the troops at daybreak Monday.At least 27 soldiers and 20 militants had been killed, Lebanese security officials said Monday, but they did not know how many civilians had been killed inside the camp because it is off-limits to their authority.One official in the camp said a total of 34 people had been killed inside the camp, including 14 civilians.But that could not be independently confirmed, and other estimates of civilian deaths were lower.A spokesman for Fatah Islam, Abu Salim, warned yesterday that if the army bombardment did not stop, the militants would step up attacks by rockets and artillery “and would take the battle outside Tripoli.”He did not elaborate on the threat, holding authorities responsible for the consequences.”It is a life or death battle.Their aim is to wipe out Fatah Islam.We will respond and we know how to respond,” he told The Associated Press.Earlier in the day, another refugee camp, Ein el-Hilweh in southern Lebanon, was tense after Lebanese troops surrounded it and armed militants went on alert.An army officer at the frontline, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak to the media, said troops were directing concentrated fire at buildings inside the Nahr el-Bared refugee camp known to house militants.The army officer said troops also had orders to strike hard at any target that directed fire back at them.Nampa-AP