The Lebanese army reported on Wednesday that a gunman attempted to attack the U.S. embassy near Beirut.
In a statement, the Lebanese military said soldiers shot the assailant, identified as a Syrian national. The gunman was wounded and taken to a hospital.
Local media reported a gunfight lasting nearly half an hour near the U.S. diplomatic mission in the suburb of Aukar, north of Beirut.
The U.S. Embassy stated that the morning attack at the embassy’s entrance did not result in any casualties among their staff, and that Lebanese troops and embassy security responded swiftly.
The Lebanese military said it deployed troops around the embassy and surrounding areas.
In 1983, a bombing attack on the U.S. Embassy in Beirut killed 63 people, which U.S. officials blamed on the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.
After that attack, the embassy was moved from central Beirut to the Christian suburb of Aukar, north of the capital. Another bomb attack targeted the new location on September 20, 1984.
In September 2023, Lebanese security forces detained a Lebanese man who opened fire near the U.S. Embassy, resulting in no casualties.
In October 2023, hundreds of protesters clashed with Lebanese security forces in demonstrations near the U.S. Embassy in support of Gaza’s people and the militant group Hamas in its conflict with Israel.
