Lebanon: Suicide attacks near Syria border kill 1 girl
BEIRUT — Explosions, including five suicide bombings, shook a Lebanese border town early on Friday, killing a Syrian girl and wounding seven Lebanese soldiers as the army raided several refugee settlements, the military said.
The Lebanese army has been battling militants who have thrived in the border area with Syria during its war, now in its seventh year. Tiny Lebanon of 4.5 million people has been grappling with an influx of over a million Syrian refugees who escaped violence at home to find refuge in the neighbouring country.
The raids and a subsequent security sweep earned the Lebanese military much praise. But they also stirred up a storm among Syrian activists after pictures surfaced of rows of detainees with their faces to the ground, many bare-chested and their hands cuffed. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights called for their immediate release.
According to an army statement, the soldiers were conducting early morning raids Friday in the town of Arsal when the attacks took place. The town and the surrounding area was the scene of a major cross-border attack in 2014, when a number of Lebanese soldiers were abducted.