Chaos In The Streets of Lebanon

Lebanon’s army is battling a small, al-Qaida-linked militant group called Fatah Islam. The group set up its headquarters last fall in a Palestinian refugee camp near the northern Lebanese port city of Tripoli, after Syria released its leader from jail.

Fierce fighting broke out Sunday when local police raided the militants’ hideouts in the city. Fighters burst out of the nearby refugee camp, ambushing army troops called in to help. The army then laid siege to the camp with tanks and artillery.

This fighting may signal the opening of a new front in the War on Terror with al Qaeda.