Booby trap kills 6 soldiers at Lebanon camp

By Nazih Siddiq

NAHR AL-BARED, Lebanon (Reuters) - Six Lebanese soldiers were killed on Friday by an explosion in a building booby trapped by Islamist militants at a Palestinian camp in north Lebanon, security sources said.

Four more soldiers were wounded by the blast which destroyed the building at the Nahr al-Bared camp, where the army has been fighting the al Qaeda-inspired Fatah al-Islam group for nearly four weeks.

The fighting is Lebanon's worst internal violence since the 1975-1990 civil war, killing at least 150 people, including 68 soldiers, more than 50 militants and 32 civilians. The violence has forced thousands of people to flee the camp.

Shell explosions and sporadic bursts of machinegun fire were heard at the camp -- base to the Fatah al-Islam group which is led by a Palestinian but includes fighters from other Arab countries, including Saudi Arabia, Syria and Lebanon.

The army has been fighting in the outskirts of the camp but has not entered its official boundaries. Lebanese security forces are not allowed to enter the 12 Palestinian camps in Lebanon under a 1969 Arab agreement.

The Lebanese army wants the militants to surrender unconditionally and face justice for attacking and killing its troops. Fatah al-Islam says it is fighting in self-defence and has vowed to fight to the death.

Mainstream Palestinian factions have proposed deploying a force of some 150 fighters to secure part of the camp not held by Fatah al-Islam and create a "safe haven" for refugees still there, Palestinian political sources said.

They said they were still waiting for the army's response to the idea.  Continued...