By News Agencies
UPDATE: At least 23 Lebanese soldiers and 19 al Qaeda-linked Palestinians killed in serious clashes in northern Lebanon. Eight Lebanese soldiers taken hostage
Lebanese security forces fought Islamic militants (DEBKA says the militants were Palestinians) in the northern city of Tripoli and an adjacent Palestinian refugee camp early Sunday, and at least nineteen are dead in fighting that involved tank and grenade fire, security officials and rescuers said.
The dead includes 11 Lebanese soldiers, four civilians and at least four militants.
