Lebanese army kills IS-linked militant

Beirut: The Lebanese army killed a suspected IS-linked militant accused of carrying out several bomb attacks in Ras Baalbek town near the Syrian border, a security source and a military source said on Tuesday.
The man, a Syrian national, was shot dead during an operation launched after the army received intelligence that an IS-linked cell was meeting, the security source said.
A Lebanese national suspected of weapons smuggling was also arrested in the raid, and the army discovered several bombs, an explosive belt, and nearly 50 kg of explosives, the source said.
The operation took place in the Arsal area, where the army says it has been carrying out a major security operation against suspected militants. In late June, authorities arrested several hundred people in a raid at refugee camps in Arsal.
A Lebanese military prosecutor ordered forensics last week to examine the bodies of four Syrian detainees who died in army custody, after rights groups called for an investigation.
The Lebanese army says it regularly stages operations targeting Islamic State and former Al Qaeda-linked militants in the hills around the border. Some attacks in Lebanon have been linked to the six-year war in neighbouring Syria, whereHezbollah is fighting in support of President Bashar Al Assad.