Heavy gunfire rang out from inside a bombed out Palestinian refugee camp yesterday as the Lebanese army pounded Islamic militants holed up inside during the third day of a military offensive aimed at crushing the al-Qaeda-inspired group.
Plumes of white and gray smoke rose from the Nahr el-Bared camp as the army bombarded Fatah Islam militants with heavy artillery shelling.
The militants appeared to be retreating deeper inside the Nahr el-Bared camp, but one of their leaders vowed they would not surrender.
Tanks and artillery pounded Fatah Islam positions on the northern edge of Nahr el-Bared, located on the outskirts of this northern Lebanese port city, in a wide area concentrated around 10 buildings.
Lebanese security officials said a Fatah Islam militant was firing rocket-propelled grenades at army positions from the minaret of a mosque. It was not clear if the army was going to strike the minaret.
Fatah Islam spokesman Abu Salim Taha, said the heavy fighting was taking place on the north and northeastern edges of the camp.
He said Fatah Islam militants ambushed an advancing Lebanese force, and pushed it said Fatah Islam leader Shaker Youssef al-Absi "is supervising the battle from an operations room."
Taha added that five Fatah Islam members, including a senior leader, have been killed since Friday, when the latest army offensive began, and seven were wounded.
A senior Lebanese army officer said nine Lebanese troops have been killed since Friday, and several others wounded.
The casualties raised the army's deaths to 44 in two weeks. At least 20 civilians and about 60 militants have been killed, but casualties in the camp in the last two days were unknown because relief organizations have been banned from entering.
The Lebanese government has demanded the group surrender, saying it's the only way to end the attack. But Abu Hureira, Fatah Islam's deputy commander, rejected the government calls.
"This is not only impossible, this is unthinkable. Our blood is cheaper than handingover our weapons and surrendering," Abu Hureira, a Lebanese whose real name is Shehab al-Qaddour, said in a telephone interview.
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