Lebanese missiles target militants - Mideast/N. Africa - MSNBC.com

Lebanese missiles target militants - Mideast/N. Africa - MSNBC.com: "TRIPOLI, Lebanon - A Lebanese army helicopter on Saturday fired missiles and strafed suspected positions of Islamic militants on the edge of a Palestinian refugee camp with machine gun fire in the first air force involvement in nearly two weeks of fighting.

The helicopter, a French-made Gazelle, directed machine gun fire at areas near the Mediterranean coastline. Two air-to-surface missiles were also fired during three runs over the area.

It was not clear what the aircraft was firing at, but it was possibly blocking an escape route by sea for the Fatah Islam militants.

The air force's first involvement came on the second day of an offensive the army launched to defeat the militants and force their surrender from the Nahr el-Bared refugee camp where they have been holed up.

Lebanon has no fixed wing aircraft in its arsenal, but it has 33 helicopters, most of them transports.

Three more Lebanese soldiers were killed and five wounded Saturday, military officials said, leaving the army with five dead and 15 wounded since the latest offensive began." Read complete post here.