Lebanese army helicopters stepped up raids today on al-Qaida-inspired Islamic militants barricaded in a Palestinian refugee camp in the country’s north, after five soldiers were killed, a senior military official said.

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 troops bombed Islamic militants holed up in a Palestinian refugee camp yesterday, as mediators met senior military officials to discuss a possible ceasefire deal that would disarm the al-Qaida-inspired fighters.