BEIRUT (AP) – The U.S. ambassador to Lebanon said Sunday that $25 million worth of weapons and ammunition have arrived in Beirut, the latest American assistance to Lebanon’s army as it fights Islamic extremists along the border with Syria.
Ambassador David Hale said the equipment includes more than 70 M198 howitzers and over 26 million rounds of ammunition and artillery “of all shapes and sizes, including heavy artillery.”
Islamic extremists have launched several attacks on Lebanese troops over the past months in areas near the Syrian border, killing and wounding scores of troops. The most serious attack occurred in August, when members of the al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front and the Islamic State group captured two dozen Lebanese soldiers. They have killed four of them and still hold the rest.
Lebanese and American officials attended a handover ceremony Sunday at Beirut’s port.
“We are very proud of this and this is top-of-the-line equipment. This is the best that there is in the marketplace. It’s what our soldiers use,” Hale said. “I know that in a matter of days it’s going to be what your brave soldiers are using in the battle to defeat terrorism and extremism that is pouring across the border from Syria.”