Report: Main Suspect in Attack against Army in Arsal Fled to Syria

The head of the group that assaulted the army checkpoint on the outskirts of the Bekaa town of Arsal fled into the neighboring country Syria, media reports said on Monday.

According to As Safir newspaper, the main suspect received a fatwa (legal edicts) by one of the Sheikhs in the Bekaa that allows attacking the army after his brother was killed in the battles in Homs.

Last week, three soldiers of the army's 6th brigade were killed overnight in an attack on their checkpoint in the town of Wadi Hmeid in the eastern border town of Arsal.

Media reports said that the gunmen, riding in a Hummer, had fled to Syrian territories after the attack.

On Friday, Army Intelligence arrested the brother of a Lebanese suspect involved in the attack, media reports said.

So far two Lebanese nationals and a Syrian, who is residing in the Bekaa town of Shtaura, have been detained.