Syrian attacked US embassy in Beirut ‘in support of Gaza’: judicial official

AFP | | Beirut, Lebanon

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

A Syrian man was arrested after a shooting near the US embassy in Beirut yesterday and a judicial official said the assailant carried out the attack “in support of Gaza”.

The embassy in the capital’s northern suburb of Awkar “was subjected to gunfire by a person holding Syrian nationality”, the army said on social media platform X.

“Army personnel deployed in the area responded to the sources of fire, wounding the shooter,” the statement said, adding that “he was arrested and transported to hospital”.

The US embassy said on X that “small arms fire was reported in the vicinity of the entrance” and that “thanks to the quick reaction” of the Lebanese army, security forces “and our embassy security team, our facility and our team are safe”.

The judicial official told AFP that the assailant, who was seriously wounded, said he carried out the attack “in support of Gaza”, where Israel and Hamas have been at war since the Palestinian militant group’s unprecedented October 7 attack on Israel.

A security official told AFP that a Lebanese national working for the embassy suffered light injuries to his eye after the assailant opened fire.