Army Heightens Security Measures after Coming under Attack
The Lebanese Army was on high alert on Saturday following two days of bloody confrontations with wanted criminals in the Bekaa during which military posts came under rocket fire, three soldiers were injured and three suspects killed.
On Friday, drugs baron Ali Abbas Jaafar, who had 172 outstanding arrest warrants against him, was killed along with an aide after they refused to stop, the army said. Three soldiers were lightly wounded when a rocket exploded near the vehicle, an army spokesman told AFP.
The army said in a statement Saturday that Jaafar was driving a stolen Range Rover which contained a rocket launcher and other munitions in addition to a stash of hashish.
Relatives of the two men shot at an army vehicle later in the day when the bodies were brought to Baalbek, witnesses said.
The Army put up permanent checkpoints and intensified patrols outside Baalbeck. Helicopters combed the area in search for the attackers.
The statement said soldiers exchanged gunfire with unknown assailants late Thursday after they refused to stop at one of the checkpoints in the eastern Bekaa Valley.
Jaafar was wanted on a variety of charges, including drug trafficking, opening fire on military positions, attempted murder of soldiers and civilians and carrying false documents.
Historically known as Lebanon”s breadbasket, the Bekaa Valley was also synonymous with production of illegal drugs, chiefly hashish, during the 1975-1990 civil war.
A senior ministerial source told An-Nahar daily said the political leadership has adopted a unified position regarding attacks on the army. "Undermining security is a red line," the source said.
"The army and security forces … have achieved commendable successes in order to safeguard stability in the country," including carrying out series of arrests in the past week, the source added.