The US Embassy in Beirut was targeted with gunfire
The country’s military said the US Embassy in Lebanon was attacked early Wednesday morning. According to the embassy, a security guard was injured in the incident.
The army said an attacker was also injured before being captured. The embassy did not say how the guard was injured or how serious his injuries were. They had previously said that all of their employees were safe.
Lebanese security forces and embassy security teams respond to “small arms” near the entrance of the fortified compound overlooking the Lebanese capital Beirut, the embassy said in a statement.
The Lebanese army said in a statement that a Syrian citizen opened fire and that soldiers deployed in response to the shooting wounded the attacker, who was being treated in hospital after being captured. . The military did not say whether there was more than one attacker.
Lebanon’s interim prime minister, Najib Mikati, called the situation stable and said in a statement that an investigation was underway. The country’s state news agency reported that security forces were deployed at the scene and blocked the road leading to the embassy.
The US Embassy was also targeted last September, when a gunman opened fire on the compound. No one was injured in that incident and a suspect was arrested.
In October, protesters protested after a deadly explosion at Al-Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza clashed with security forces as they tried to reach the embassy.
The embassy moved from central Beirut to the northern suburb of Awkar after a suicide bombing killed 63 people in 1983. US officials blamed that attack on Hezbollah, the Lebanese militant group , is currently engaged in cross-border clashes with Israeli forces. .
Hwaida Saad Report contributions.
