Lebanese officials claim rockets fired across the border from Syria

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• published: 03 Aug 2015
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Several rockets struck the predominantly Shiite town of Labweh in eastern Lebanon on Monday, causing some damage but no casualties. Angry Labweh residents said the rockets were fired from the Lebanese Sunni-dominated town of Arsal, which is surrounded by Shiite villages guarded by Hezbollah militants. Syrian rebels have been pouring across the border into Arsal after their stronghold of Yabroud fell to Syrian President Bashar Assad's forces on Sunday. The Lebanese army sent commandos to the tense border area with Syria on Monday, bracing for another spillover from the conflict. Lebanese troops and commandos patrolled the rugged, hilly border area on foot. On one patrol, near the northeastern village of Fakiha, they came across an abandoned vehicle, rigged with explosives and blew it up, leaving a four-metre (yard) crater on the ground. Syria's civil war has already ignited polarising sectarian tensions between Lebanon's Sunnis and Shiites. With opposition fighters crossing into Lebanon, where Hezbollah is a major force, Syria's smaller neighbour is likely to be dragged even more into the conflict. You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/d0b5feabf6239ed93657c40236846d5d Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork