Mohammed Zaatari/AP
Lebanese army soldiers help an injured soldier after clashes between followers of radical Sunni cleric Sheik Ahmad al-Assir and Shiite gunmen broke out in the southern port city of Sidon, Lebanon, June 24, 2013.
Lebanese troops battled heavily-armed followers of a hard-line Sunni cleric holed up in a mosque complex in a southern port city on Monday, the second day of fighting that left at more than a dozen soldiers dead, the military said.
The fighting, some of the worst involving Lebanese troops in
years, was seen as a test of the weak government's ability to
contain the furies unleashed by the civil war in neighboring Syria.
Bilal Hussein/AP
Lebanese civilians are seen through a shattered window of a destroyed car near the Bilal bin Rabbah Mosque where Sunni cleric Sheik Ahmad al-Assir preaches, in the southern port city of Sidon, Lebanon, June 25, 2013.
Lebanese security officials say a roadside bomb exploded on the highway linking Beirut with the Syrian capital without causing casualties.
Mohammed Zaatari/AP
Lebanese army soldiers fire their weapons during clashes in the southern port city of Sidon, Lebanon, June 23, 2013.
Bilal Hussein/AP
Black smoke rises from a burning house that was attacked during clashes in the southern port city of Sidon, Lebanon, June 24, 2013.
Bilal Hussein/AP
The damaged wall of the Bilal bin Rabbah mosque where Sunni cleric Sheik Ahmad al-Assir preaches, in the southern port city of Sidon, Lebanon, June 25, 2013. Lebanese troops detonated booby traps at a complex captured from followers of a hardline Sunni cleric on Tuesday, securing the area after two days of fighting that left dozens dead in the port city of Sidon.
AP
A Lebanese woman mourns during the funeral of a solider killed during fighting, in Bekka, eastern Beirut, Lebanon, June 25, 2013.
Bilal Hussein/AP
A Lebanese man shows bullet casings near the Bilal bin Rabbah mosque where Sunni cleric Sheik Ahmad al-Assir once preached, in the southern port city of Sidon, Lebanon, June 25, 2013. L
Mohammed Zaatari/AP
A military tank is seen during clashes that erupted between followers of a radical Sunni cleric Sheik Ahmad al-Assir and Shiite gunmen, in the southern port city of Sidon, Lebanon, June 24, 2013.
Bilal Hussein/AP
Black smoke rises from the Bilal bin Rabbah Mosque where Sunni cleric Sheik Ahmad al-Assir preaches, in the southern port city of Sidon, Lebanon, June 24, 2013.
Mohammed Zaatari/AP
Lebanese army soldiers stand guard near the Bilal bin Rabbah mosque where Sunni cleric Sheik Ahmad al-Assir once preached, in the southern port city of Sidon, Lebanon, June 26, 2013.
Bilal Hussein/AP
Lebanese civilians hold candles, national flags and sing the national anthem during a sit-in to show their solidarity with the Lebanese army, at Martyrs square in Beirut, Lebanon, June 25, 2013.
Mohammed Zaatari/AP
Lebanese Red Cross workers arrive to carry the lifeless bodies of gunmen killed during Monday's clashes with army soldiers near the Bilal bin Rabbah mosque in Sidon, Lebanon, June 25, 2013.
Mohammed Zaatari/AP
A Lebanese army soldier runs to take position during clashes between followers of radical Sunni cleric Sheik Ahmad al-Assir and Shiite gunmen, in Sidon, Lebanon, June 24, 2013.
Mohammed Zaatari/AP
A Lebanese army soldier stands guard near the Bilal bin Rabbah mosque where Sunni cleric Sheik Ahmad al-Assir once preached, in Sidon, Lebanon, June 26, 2013.
Mohammed Zaatari/AP
A girl walks past damaged vehicles near the Bilal bin Rabbah mosque where Sunni cleric Sheik Ahmad al-Assir preaches, in Sidon, Lebanon, June 25, 2013.
