Second Lebanon camp attacked

Apart from the two Lebanese soldiers, one civilian and two militants were also killed at Ain al-Hilweh, Lebanon8217;s biggest camp, security and military sources said.

Witnesses said fighters of the Sunni Muslim militant Jund al-Sham group had been involved in clashes with Lebanese troops three times since Sunday night. Three soldiers and two civillians had also been wounded in the fighting, started by the gunmen.

Jund al-Sham is a very small group that has sided with Fatah al-Islam, the group fighting the army at Nahr al-Bared, though there are no apparent organisational links between the two.

8220;The army leadership indicates that attacks on the army by armed groups are persisting from the Palestinian camps,8221; the Lebanese army said in a statement late on Sunday.

8220;It urges all Palestinian factions and Lebanese politicians to take a decisive stand so that these camps do not become a source of civil strife that aims to hit the nation8217;s stability.8221;

In north Lebanon, troops pounded Nahr al-Bared sporadically throughout the night. Fatah al-Islam fighters have so far refused to give up their weapons or surrender, putting up stiff resistance despite being vastly outgunned and outnumbered.

Since Friday, the army had conducted an intensive assault on Fatah al-Islam positions at the camp8217;s entrances with the aim of wiping out the militants.