Forty killed in Lebanon fighting

At least 40 people have been killed in fierce fighting between Lebanese troops and al Qaeda-linked militants in northern Lebanon.

Twenty three soldiers and 19 militants were killed at Nahr al-Bared Palestinian refugee camp near Tripoli and in an attack on an army patrol in al-Qalamoun, just south of the city, a security source said.

A cabinet minister said the clashes with the Fatah al-Islam group, which the government says is backed by Syria, seemed timed to try to derail UN moves to set up an international court to investigate political killings in Lebanon.

It was Lebanon's worst internal fighting since the end of the 1975-1990 civil war, and was triggered when security forces raided homes in Tripoli to arrest suspects from the Fatah al-Islam group accused of robbing a bank a day earlier.

Lebanon is home to more than 350,000 Palestinian refugees, many of whom fled their homes when Israel was created in 1948.

The military is banned from entering the Nahr el-Bared camp under a 38-year-old deal.

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