Lebanese army shells camp

Nahr Al Bared: The Lebanese military on Saturday continued its siege on surviving militants at the Nahr Al Bared refugee camp, bombarding them with artillery.

Heavy artillery shells slammed into the heart of the Palestinian camp. Extremists holed up in the camp responded with gunfire and grenades, security sources said.

The shelling came after Fatah Al Islam militants shot dead a soldier and wounded three others at the camp. Officials said it was the first military fatality since Thursday's truce.

The military has vowed to continue its siege until the last of the Fatah Al Islam members surrender, Lebanon's Defence Minister Elias Al Murr had said on Thursday.

At least 143 people have been killed in more than five weeks of violence. Palestinian clerics held talks with the militants on Friday to broker a ceasefire.

Militant spokesman Shahin Shahin said that Islamists want to stick to a unilateral truce but that "if there is shooting at us we will be forced to respond."