The leader of Hezbollah claimed responsibility today for launching a drone which entered Israeli airspace earlier this week, a rare and provocative move by the Lebanese militants at a time of soaring regional tensions.

Two people were killed and 15 others injured in street battles between pro- and anti-Syrian groups in the Lebanese capital overnight as the spiralling conflict in neighbouring Syria spilled across the border.

One person was killed and 10 injured in overnight clashes in Beirut between Sunni Muslim groups that support and oppose the Syrian regime, Lebanese security officials said today.

Members of the defence forces have been deployed to south Lebanon to quell tensions. While their commander attests to their readiness for the mission, if violence escalates it could prevent a visit by President McAleese, writes Political Reporter Juno McEnroe in Tibnin.

IRISH troops on the frontline in south Lebanon are tasked with trying to keep a lid on tensions between the warring sides boiling over and threatening a fragile peace pact.

A RADICAL Muslim cleric was arrested yesterday at his home in northern Lebanon, two days after a military court sentenced him in absentia to life in prison in a terrorism trial, authorities said.

A radical Muslim cleric was arrested today at his home in northern Lebanon two days after a military court sentenced him in absentia to life in prison in a terrorism trial, authorities said.

LEBANESE and Israeli troops exchanged fire on the border in the most serious clashes since a fierce war four years ago, killing four people including two Lebanese soldiers and an Israeli army officer.

LEBANON’S marine commandos yesterday recovered the black box of the Ethiopian Airlines jet that crashed into the Mediterranean last month, the Lebanese army said.

Searchers have located the black boxes of an Ethiopian Airlines plane that crashed in the sea off Lebanon last month killing 90 people.

An Ethiopian Airlines plane carrying 90 people crashed into the Mediterranean Sea in flames early today, just minutes after take-off from Beirut, authorities said.

Ninety people were feared dead today after an Ethiopian Airlines plane crashed into the sea off Lebanon in stormy weather, minutes after take-off, a government minister said.

The Lebanese army moved troops to several tense areas around the country today warning would it use force if needed to impose order after clashes between the Western-backed government and Hezbollah-led opposition.

The Lebanese army has said Israeli warplanes have violated their airspace by flying missions over Beirut and elsewhere in the country.

Balint Szlanko reports from Beirut on the army’s victory over Fatah el-Islam and the prospect of transforming cross-party support into unity.

Lebanese troops exchanged fire with militants on the run today, as the military swept a Palestinian refugee camp and surrounding areas in northern Lebanon to try to capture the last holdouts after a climactic battle.

A bloody three-month siege at a Palestinian refugee camp ended in a ferocious gunbattle with 39 al-Qaida inspired militants killed, 20 captured and three Lebanese soldiers dead on Sunday.

Relatives of Islamic fighters holed up in a Palestinian refugee camp in northern Lebanon began leaving the besieged area today, a Muslim clergyman mediating between the militants and the army said.

Lebanese authorities have arrested four Palestinians outside a southern refugee camp who allegedly confessed to planning bombings inside the country, a senior security official said today.

Lebanese army troops unleashed barrages of artillery and tank shells today at Islamic militants in a Palestinian refugee camp in northern Lebanon, witnesses and security officials said.

Lebanese troops resumed bombardment of al-Qaida-inspired militants entrenched in a Palestinian refugee camp in northern Lebanon today.

Three Lebanese soldiers were killed and a fourth was critically injured today while dismantling a bomb placed by al Qaida-inspired Islamic militants in a northern Palestinian refugee camp, officials said.

Lebanon’s defence minister declared victory over the Fatah Islam militant group, saying it had been crushed after a month-long military assault on its stronghold in a northern refugee camp.

Two Katyusha rockets fired from Lebanon fell on northern Israel today, police and the military said.

Heavy fighting shattered a brief lull as the Lebanese army continued bombarding suspected hideouts of militants holed up in a Palestinian refugee camp in northern Lebanon.

Sporadic gunfire and artillery shelling rang out from a Palestinian refugee camp in northern Lebanon today as the army fought to uproot Fatah Islam militants holed up in the settlement.

Lebanon’s army today pounded al Qaida-inspired Islamic militants hiding in a Palestinian refugee camp in renewed heavy clashes following a few days of intermittent fighting.

Sporadic fighting between Lebanese troops and al-Qaida-inspired Islamic militants continued today in a northern Palestinian refugee camp as police, stepping up raids nationwide on suspected militant hideouts, made 13 more arrests.

ISLAMIST gunmen killed two Lebanese soldiers at a Palestinian refugee camp in south Lebanon yesterday, in the first fatal spillover of fighting between the army and al-Qaida-inspired fighters in the north.

Under the cover of artillery barrages, dozens of Lebanese army tanks and armoured carriers today moved against Islamic militants barricaded in a Palestinian refugee camp in northern Lebanon.

Heavy clashes between the Lebanese army and al Qaida-linked Islamic militants broke a week-long truce as Lebanon’s government stressed its determination to defeat the terrorists.

Hezbollah leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah warned Lebanon not to storm a besieged Palestinian refugee camp, calling instead for a negotiated solution.

Two military transport planes landed at Beirut airport today carrying foreign military aid to help the Lebanese army fight Islamic militants.

Lebanon's prime minister today vowed to wipe out an Islamic militant group barricaded in a Palestinian refugee camp.

A senior official of a radical Palestinian faction today warned that if the Lebanese army launches an assault to wipe out an Islamic militant group barricaded in a Palestinian refugee camp, it would trigger violence in other camps.

A new attempt at a ceasefire in the fierce battle at a Palestinian refugee camp fell apart today when Lebanese troops and Islamic militants resumed barrages after a pause that lasted nearly an hour.

Lebanese army tanks have pounded a shadowy group suspected of ties to al-Qaida, targeting its hideouts inside a Palestinian refugee camp after hours of clashes killed at least 22 soldiers and 17 militants.

Minister for Defence Willie O'Dea is visiting Irish soldiers serving with the UN peacekeeping mission in south Lebanon today.

Minsiter for Defence Willie O'Dea is travelling to Lebanon today to assess the situation facing Irish peacekeepers in the volatile south of the country.

Lebanon’s defence minister said today that a truckload of ammunition belonging to the Hezbollah seized the previous day would be used by the Lebanese army in case of future Israeli attacks.

Life was returning to normal in the Lebanese capital and around the country today, a day after violent confrontation between government supporters and opponents killed three people and wounded dozens in the worst escalation of the Hezbollah-led opposition’s campaign to topple Prime Minister Fuad Saniora’s Western-backed Cabinet.

America’s United Nations ambassador has accused Syria and Iran of trying to destabilise Lebanon's democratically-elected government by breaking a UN arms embargo.

THE Israeli army abandoned almost all of its positions in Lebanon yesterday, military officials said, fulfilling a key condition of the August 14 ceasefire that ended a month-long war against Hezbollah guerrillas.

The Israeli army withdrew the last of its troops from Lebanon overnight today, military officials said, fulfilling a key condition of the August 14 cease-fire that ended a month-long war against Hezbollah guerrillas.