Lebanese intelligence agents kill 2 suspected members of al-Qaida-inspired group

Lebanese intelligence agents kill 2 militants

BEIRUT — A senior Lebanese army officer says intelligence agents have killed two suspected members of an al-Qaida-inspired group.

Local TV station Al-Jadeed reports that one of them was Abdul-Rahman Awad, a leader of the Fatah Islam group. Asked whether Awad was killed, the army officer said “there is a big possibility.”

The officer said agents trailed the men from the Palestinian refugee camp of Ein el-Hilweh in southern Lebanon to the eastern Bekaa Valley. He spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations.

The state-run National News Agency says the two men opened fire first when agents tried to arrest them.

Fatah Islam is made up of Islamic extremists of various nationalities. They battled Lebanese troops for three months in 2007.