Syria rebels raid Lebanese town, capture troops

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP-Excite

By BASSEM MROUE

BEIRUT (AP) — Rebels fighting in Syria's civil war crossed into Lebanon and raided a border town Saturday, killing and capturing security force members in the most serious incursion into the tiny country during its neighbor's 3-year-old conflict.

The rebels, who included foreign fighters, demanded to trade soldiers and police officers it captured in Arsal for some of the "most dangerous detainees," the Lebanese army said in a statement. Masked gunmen roamed the streets as Lebanese helicopter gunships flew over the town, about 90 kilometers (55 miles) from the capital, Beirut.

A Lebanese army general told The Associated Press that the gunmen attacked army positions near Arsal and troops returned fire. Another official said the gunmen also took control of the main police station in the town.

Lebanon's state-run National News Agency reported that Arsal residents later freed police officers at the station, though rebels captured some weapons and released several detainees. It said gunmen killed two residents near the police station.

FULL story at link.



Gunmen drive away with about a dozen men, two in camouflage police uniforms, in Arsal, a Sunni Muslim town near the Syrian border in eastern Lebanon, Saturday, Aug 2, 2014. Rebels fighting in Syria{2019}s civil war crossed into Lebanon and raided a border town Saturday, killing and capturing security force members in the most serious incursion into the tiny country during its neighbor{2019}s 3-year-old conflict. (AP Photo)



Read more: http://apnews.excite.com/article/20140802/ml-syria-adf8175f9b.html

[Wolf Frankula]

1. Once Again

Your Tax Dollars at Work. ISIS and the "moderate" (ie. not quite so nutty Islamic) opposition.

Wolf

[TIMETOCHANGE]

2. So residents freed folks.

So did the residents fight back? I'm not quite sure what the article is saying. Lebanon should understand that if these radicals are successful in Syria, they'll be eventually make their way to Lebanon (history repeats itself). Best to get the military ready and help citizens organize to form government regulated and approved militias to repel future invasions. If Syria falls, Lebanon will one day face these forces.