Beirut:
A rocket fired from Lebanon wounded two Syrian border police on Monday, Lebanon’s General Security agency has said.
“On Monday at dawn, gunmen fired a rocket from Buqaya, in Lebanese territory, towards Syria, hitting a Syrian immigration post and wounding two border police,” a statement from the agency’s general directorate said.
It is the first time the agency has reported firing from Lebanon into Syrian territory.
Buqaya is located in the Akkar district, 185km north of Beirut.
“The Syrians pursued the gunmen and, during the pursuit, a Lebanese General Security post was hit,” the statement added.
“A Syrian unit arrived at the Lebanese post and apprehended two members of General Security, taking them into Syrian territory before releasing them.”
The men who fired the rocket managed to escape, a General Security spokesman said on condition of anonymity.
No Lebanese personnel were wounded, the spokesman added.
A local official said: “Armed men, riding a motorcycle, shot a rocket towards the Syrian village of Mcherfe at 3am.
“The Syrian forces immediately returned fire with automatic weapons, and the shooting lasted about 10 minutes. There were no casualties on the Lebanese side but one house was damaged.”
Syrian troops have carried out a number of cross-border raids into Lebanon since the outbreak of the revolt against President Bashar Al Assad’s rule in March last year, sparking fears of a spillover of the conflict.
