A gunman today attacked the United States’ embassy in Lebanon before being shot and captured by Lebanese security forces, in the latest attack on the American diplomatic mission in the country in recent years and decades.
As a result of the gunfight outside the US embassy near the capital, Beirut, this morning, which lasted almost half an hour, one embassy security guard was injured, with an embassy spokesperson saying in a statement that with “respect to his privacy we cannot say more, but we wish him a full recovery”.
The lone suspect was reportedly shot in the stomach and leg before being captured by Lebanese security forces and taken to the military hospital in Beirut. With media reports in the country initially referring to him as a Syrian national, the Associated Press cited an unnamed Lebanese security official and two judicial officials familiar with the case as identifying him as a resident of the eastern Lebanese border town of Majdal Anjar near the Syrian border.
Following the incident, according to a statement by the Lebanese army, military forces raided both Majdal Anjar and nearby town, Suweiri, arresting three of the suspect’s relatives and two other people believed to be associated with him.
The motive behind the attack has not yet been clarified, and there is no substantive evidence of any involvement by a terrorist or militant group. Although Lebanese media outlets have published photos reportedly showing the attacker wearing a black top with “Islamic State” written on it in Arabic with the English initials “I” and “S”, Daesh nor any other group have yet claimed responsibility for the attack.
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