10 Lebanon troops dead, 13 missing in clashes with militants

Lebanese troops battled militants near the Syrian border Sunday in a second day of clashes that the army chief said left 10 soldiers dead and 13 missing, possibly held hostage. Militants fired heavy machineguns and mortar rounds at troops in the Arsal area of eastern Lebanon, and sniper fire killed a civilian inside the border town, a security source said.
At a press briefing, army chief General Jean Kahwaji warned that the situation was "extremely dangerous" and described the clashes as a premeditated attack on the military.
"The army has lost 10 martyrs, with 25 more wounded, including four officers, and 13 soldiers are missing, possibly being held prisoner," he said.
A security source, meanwhile, said that a civilian had been killed by sniper fire inside Arsal, raising the civilian death toll in the fighting to three.
The violence is the worst to hit the area since the beginning of the war in neighbouring Syria in 2011.