Army Officer and a Sergeant Killed in Operation against Deserter

An army major and a sergeant were killed Thursday when their vehicle came under gunfire during an operation against an army deserter in eastern Lebanon, an army spokesman said.

"A major was martyred during a raid in the town of Majdal Anjar (in the Bekaa Valley) in an attempt to find a deserter who had sought refuge there," the spokesman told AFP, declining to disclose his name.

Information obtained by Naharnet, however, identified the dead officer as Maj. Abdo Jasser.

Sergeant Ziad al-Mayss was also killed in the operation.

An AFP correspondent said an exchange of gunfire was heard in the town around 10:00 am (0700 GMT).

The eastern Bekaa Valley has historically been known as a safe haven for fugitives and gained particular notoriety during the 1975-1990 civil war as a fertile hashish-growing region run by tribes.

Three soldiers were killed in an ambush on an army patrol in the Bekaa in April when a prominent clan sought revenge for the killing of one of their members, a drug baron who refused to stop at an army checkpoint.(AFP-Naharnet)