Top US military commander in Mideast visits Lebanon for talks with army chief

The top U.S. military commander for the Middle East was in Lebanon on Wednesday meeting with the head of the Lebanese army.

In the wake of shocking overthrow of the government in neighboring Syria, the two military leaders discussed the security situation in Lebanon, a statement from the country's army said.

U.S. Army Gen. Erik Kurilla, who leads U.S. Central Command, met with the head of the Lebanese army Gen. Joseph Aoun to discuss ongoing American support for the implementation of the U.S.-and French-brokered ceasefire agreement, which ended more than a year of war between Israel and Hezbollah.

Israel has said the truce deal gives it the right to use military force against perceived ceasefire violations. Israel has launched near-daily strikes, mostly in southern Lebanon, that have killed at least 28 people and wounded 25 others since the ceasefire took effect on Nov. 27. Still, the shaky truce appears to be holding.

Five people were killed Wednesday by at least three Israeli strikes in different southern towns, Lebanon’s Health Ministry and state news agency said.

On Tuesday, Kurilla was in eastern Syria visiting U.S. military bases and meeting with members of a Kurdish-led Syrian force that is backed by the U.S. He was assessing what CENTCOM described as efforts to counter a resurgence of the Islamic State group. He also visited Baghdad for talks with Iraqi officials on regional security and counter-IS operations.