Lebanese army bombards Islamic militants

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.

Black smoke billowed from the Nahr el-Bared camp in northern Lebanon where witnesses reported some of the heaviest army shelling since June 1, when the Lebanese army – using tanks and artillery – launched an offensive to drive the Fatah Islam militants from their positions inside the settlement.