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.

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.

The Lebanese military today said it had largely defeated al-Qaida-inspired Islamic militants, over-running their positions inside a Palestinian refugee camp, but gunfire and artillery blasts continued as troops pursued remaining fighters.

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.