3 Soldiers Wounded in Gunfight with Criminals in Baalbek, 1 Arrested

Three Lebanese army soldiers were injured at dawn Tuesday during a raid to arrest wanted criminals in al-Sharawina neighborhood of the eastern city of Baalbek, the army command said.

It said in a communiqué that a gunfight erupted when the armed men took refuge in the house of a female lawyer whom it identified with her initials as L.J.

The lawyer prevented the patrol from arresting the criminals and incited other gunmen to confront it, the communiqué said.

A fighting ensued, leaving three soldiers wounded, one of them with serious injuries.

It said a man identified as A.J., who is wanted on charges of arms possession, attacks on civilians and soldiers, car theft and drug trade, was arrested.

Voice of Lebanon radio station (93.3), which had reported that only two troops were wounded, said one soldier was hit in the head and the other in the mouth when Hassan Abbas Jaafar and members of his gang engaged in a one-hour armed fight with the army patrol at around 3:30 am.

While Jaafar escaped, the soldiers arrested his aide Abbas Mohammed Hassan.

The injured troops were taken to Dar al-Amal hospital.