Three Lebanese soldiers killed in raid to arrest drug barons

Three soldiers and three fugitives were killed Thursday during a Lebanese Army raid aimed at arresting durg barons in the Bekaa town of Hawrtaala, the army said.

“Troops came under gunfire, which prompted them to respond in kind, resulting in casualties on the two sides,” the army added.

Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati commented on the incidents in a tweet.

“It is the army’s destiny to always be in the lead to defend the country and its sovereignty and protect its people, paying hefty prices from the lives of its soldiers,” Mikati said.

“I salute the three army martyrs who fell today in the Bekaa and I pray to God to heal the wounded soldiers,” the premier added, extending warm condolences to the army and its command.

The army often carries out raids in the Bekaa region hunting drug smugglers amid efforts to counter a surge in captagon production and trafficking after backlash from Gulf nations.

Captagon pills, an amphetamine that is wreaking havoc in the region, are produced mainly in Syria and smuggled to the main consumer markets in the Gulf.