Lebanese army pounds camp

By Nazih Siddiq

NAHR AL-BARED, Lebanon (Reuters) - Lebanese troops pounded a Palestinian refugee camp in north Lebanon on Saturday where barricaded al Qaeda-inspired militants fired eight Katyusha-type rockets, a military source said.

The army and Fatah al-Islam militants have fought often ferocious battles at the coastal Nahr al-Bared refugee camp for nearly eight weeks with no sign the Islamist militants will heed calls to surrender.

The fighting has killed at least 219 people since May 20, with soldier deaths alone nearing 100, making it Lebanon's worst internal violence since the 1975-1990 civil war.

Security sources said a Lebanese soldier died early on Saturday from wounds inflicted in Friday's battles.

Witnesses said the army fired artillery and tank shells at Nahr al-Bared while the militants responded with sniper fire and rocket-propelled grenades from time to time.

A military source said the militants also fired eight rockets, most of which landed in nearby fields but caused no casualties. One landed in the sea and another failed to explode, the source said.

"We're getting closer and closer to them. The militants are counting on boobytraps and mines, but the army is advancing gradually and clearing those obstacles," the source said.

On Friday, the militants fired 18 of the 107 mm rockets, wounding two civilians.