News Digest

Syria rebels raid Lebanese town, capture soldiers

Rebels fighting in Syria’s civil war crossed into Lebanon and raided a border town Saturday, killing and capturing security force members. The rebels, who included foreign fighters, demanded to trade soldiers and police officers it captured in Arsal for some of the “most dangerous detainees.” Masked gunmen roamed the streets as Lebanese helicopter gunships flew over the town, about 90 kilometers from the capital, Beirut.

What is happening today is among the most dangerous of what Lebanon and the Lebanese are being subjected to.

U.S. State Department in a statement

A Lebanese army general said 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 Arsal residents later freed police officers at the station, though rebels captured some weapons and released several detainees. A U.S. State Department statement strongly condemned the attack in Arsal and said “reportedly at least seven soldiers were killed.”