Officials in Lebanon say three soldiers have died in the latest clashes with militants barricaded inside a refugee camp near the northern city of Tripoli.
Officials say militants using landmines, sniper fire and booby-traps are slowing the advance of Lebanese forces through the Palestinian shantytown.
Fatah al-Islam militants also fired several rockets Thursday at a power plant near the Nahr el-Bared camp, causing some damage. The attack forced the, Deir Amar, plant to shut down, disrupting regional electricity supplies.
In Beirut, Lebanese authorities say bomb disposal experts defused a rocket that was wired to a timer and set to explode. The device was found in southern Beirut in an area near a Palestinian refugee camp, Sabra, and United Nations offices.
Lebanon has seen a series of bombings in the past eight months that have killed six U.N. peacekeepers and two anti-Syrian lawmakers.
The military's standoff with Fatah al-Islam militants from the Nahr el-Bared camp has killed more than 200 people, including 125 soldiers, since May 20.
It is Lebanon's worst internal violence since the 1975-1990 civil war.
Some information for this report provided by AP, Reuters and AFP.
