Lebanese army arrests 50 suspected militants

The Lebanese army arrested 50 suspected militants during its raids on Syrian refugee camps in northern Lebanon on Thursday, the troops said.
The army raided several Syrian refugee camps in the north of the country where militants have taken shelter, the army Guidance Directorate said in a communique, adding that the detainees were mostly Syrian nationals but also included nine Lebanese and one Palestinian.
The army also seized large quantities of arms and ammunition during the action, including rocket propelled grenade launchers and communications systems, the communique said.
In a related development, the military arrested 13 suspects in the town of al-Dreeb in the northern Akkar district, the National News Agency reported on Thursday. Three of the suspects were Lebanese and the remaining were Syrians, including a leader of an armed group that is battling in the village of al-Hosn in central Syria.
The Lebanese army has carried out large-scale raids since Islamist militants clashed with soldiers in the northern city of Tripoli over the weekend.
The battles between the Lebanese army and extremists in northern Lebanon were widely expected after members of the Islamic State and al-Qaida linked group, the "al-Nusra Front," launched several attacks over the past weeks near the border with Syria.
Source: XINHUA