Syria helicopter hits Lebanon town‚ several hurt

AFP / RSS

A Syrian army helicopter flies over the northern city of Aleppo on October 9, 2012.

AGENCE FRANCE PRESSE

Wednesday's helicopter attack was the first on Arsal's town centre since the Syrian conflict broke out in March 2011...

A Syrian helicopter fired three missiles Wednesday on a Lebanese border town whose majority Sunni residents back the revolt against President Bashar al-Assad, a security

official said, adding several people were wounded.

"A Syrian helicopter launched three missiles on Arsal, one of which landed near the town square. Several people were hurt," the Lebanese official told AFP on condition of anonymity.

Dozens of wounded people, mainly anti-Assad fighters from Qusayr in central Syria, have arrived in Arsal in the past week, after the regime and its Lebanese ally Hezbollah took over the town on June 5.

Wednesday's helicopter attack was the first on Arsal's town centre since the Syrian conflict broke out in March 2011, although Syria's army and rebels have frequently fired into Lebanon in recent months.

While Lebanon has adopted an official position of neutrality over the conflict, the Mediterranean country is sharply divided into pro- and anti-Assad camps.

The Shiite movement Hezbollah and its allies back Assad, and the Sunni-led March 14 movement supports the insurgency.