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View all search results8 dead, dozen captured in rebel raid on Lebanon
Syrian rebels killed eight Lebanese soldiers and claimed Sunday to have captured a dozen security force members in a cross-border raid, the most serious spillover of violence yet into the tiny country from its neighbor's civil war
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S
yrian rebels killed eight Lebanese soldiers and claimed Sunday to have captured a dozen security force members in a cross-border raid, the most serious spillover of violence yet into the tiny country from its neighbor's civil war.
The capture, claimed in an online video, raised fears Lebanon could become further entangled in the Syrian civil war and could worsen already-brewing sectarian tensions.
The fighting began Saturday in the eastern Lebanese border town of Arsal, some 90 kilometers (55 miles) from the capital, Beirut. Local television footage Sunday showed wailing ambulances racing into town and soldiers standing guard just outside its limits. The Lebanese military sealed off the area, preventing reporters from approaching the town.
Lebanon's state news agency said fighting Sunday focused around an army barracks in the town's center. The fate of its residents and the Syrian refugees living remained unclear.
Saturday's raid began hours after the army said troops detained Syrian citizen Imad Ahmad Jomaa, who identified himself as a member of the Nusra Front. The state-run National News Agency said Jomaa was detained as he was being brought to a hospital in Lebanon after being wounded while fighting Syrian troops.
The Nusra Front is one of the most powerful groups fighting to overthrow the rule of Syrian President Bashar Assad.
The Lebanese military said the rebels killed at least eight soldiers since fighting began. A video uploaded to an account associated with the Nusra Front showed the dozen captured security force members announcing their defection to the group. But the men appeared uncomfortable as they repeated similar statements, saying they defected from the army and Hezbollah, the Lebanese Shiite militant group whose forces are fighting in Syria in support of Assad.
The video of the men's capture appeared authentic and corresponded with Associated Press reporting on the attack in Arsal. A Lebanese army spokesman said he could not immediately comment.
