Children among injured in Syrian shelling of Lebanon border town

Four people, including two children, were wounded Tuesday by shelling from Syria that landed in the Lebanese border area of Masharih al-Qaa. Security sources said the casualties were taken to the public hospital in Hermel, east Lebanon. They said an artillery shell hit a house inside an agriculture project in Masharih al-Qaa before midday. The wounded were identified as Youssef al-Jassem, 10, Rahaf al-Jassem, 12, as well as Walid al-Jassem, 22, and Misaab Kanaan Shehadeh, 26. The sources said Shehadeh was transferred to Dar al-Amal hospital in Baalbek due to severe leg injuries. Lebanon's northern and eastern borders with Syria have witnessed frequent exchanges of fire in recent weeks, some of them deadly, as well as shelling from Syria into Lebanon. In July, the Lebanese Army deployed troops in north Lebanon as well as the northern and eastern border with Syria following a spate of deadly incidents along the shared border. Several Lebanese have been killed and wounded by gunfire over recent months as the Syrian army has fought anti-regime armed groups in border areas. The military deployment in the north and the east of the country was in line with a government decision aimed at protecting citizens following repeated Syrian incursions into Lebanese territory. (daily star)