Army Kills 20 Militants as Nahr al-Bared Battle Seems to be Nearing End
The Lebanese army was engaged in fierce gunbattles with Fatah al-Islam militants on Sunday after killing 20 Islamists trying to flee the besieged Nahr al-Bared refugee camp.
"The fighters at dawn staged a desperate attempt to flee from Nahr al-Bared but around 20 were killed and others were taken prisoner," an army spokesman told Agence France Presse.

He said two soldiers died in the fighting, bringing to 155 the number of troops killed since the standoff between the army and Fatah al-Islam began on May 20 around the camp on the outskirts of the northern port city of Tripoli.

"We are nearing the end of the standoff," the army spokesman added.

A high-ranking judicial source said 12 militants from the al-Qaida-inspired group were in custody. Unconfirmed reports suggested that Fatah al-Islam leader Shaker al-Abssi was among the detainees, but the army would neither deny nor confirm this.

Heavy machinegun fire could be heard coming from the northern edge of the camp on Sunday as dozens of armored personnel carriers, jeeps and other vehicles transporting troops poured into the area. Military helicopters hovered overhead.

"There are still a few fighters inside who are firing at the soldiers," the army spokesman said. But it was not clear whether Fatah al-Islam spokesman Abu Salim Taha was among them or not.

Members of the Internal Security Forces (ISF) meanwhile strafed fields around the camp with machineguns for fear militants could be hiding there in ambush.

Other troops raided nearby homes, going on rooftops and searching water tanks.

Several ambulances were seen leaving the area, sirens blaring, with body bags inside.

The army issued a statement appealing to residents of nearby villages to help in the search for militants who may be on the run.

"We hope we can finish with this today," one officer at Nahr al-Bared told AFP.

An army source said the militants attempted their escape from the bombed out Palestinian refugee camp at around 4:00 am with help from outside.

"A Mercedes car pulled up to an army checkpoint on the eastern edge of the camp and began firing at soldiers as fighters launched an attack from inside," the source said.

Militants at the same time attacked another checkpoint on the southern edge of the camp.

The source said three people who were in the Mercedes were killed. The white vehicle, windows shattered and tires flat, was seen being towed out of the camp in mid-morning amid heavy security.

The army cordoned off the area around the camp while the nearby road linking the northern city of Tripoli to Syria was closed to traffic. Army checkpoints were set up throughout the region as well as on the main highway linking Tripoli to the capital.

The army source said troops were focusing their search in two nearby villages, Ayoun al-Samak and Wadi Jamous.

Most of the camp's estimated 30,000 residents fled at the start of the fighting.

The fighting in recent weeks has been concentrated in one tiny pocket of the camp located along the Mediterranean.

The army last week refused to allow wounded Fatah al-Islam fighters to be evacuated from the camp, calling for the unconditional surrender of all of the estimated 60 besieged militants.(AFP-Naharnet)(AP phpto shows relatives of Fatah al-Islam's deputy commander Abu Hureira, who was killed on July 31 in clashes with Lebanese security forces, hold his body during his funeral in Tripoli on Satuday)