Syria air raid hits pro-rebel Lebanese region
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}SYrian helicopters take part in military manoeuvres at an undisclosed location on December 20, 2011. A Syrian military helicopter fired rockets at a pro-rebel region of eastern Lebanon in the early hours of Thursday, a security source told AFP. (Sana/AFP)
A Syrian military helicopter fired rockets at a pro-rebel region of eastern Lebanon in the early hours of Thursday, a security source told AFP.
"A military helicopter violated Lebanese airspace and fired four rockets at 01:30 am (2230GMT) in the Arsal area, two of which exploded, causing damage," the source said on condition of anonymity.
The attack did not cause any injuries.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Arsal is a Sunni neighbourhood in eastern Lebanon that is broadly sympathetic to the Syrian uprising against President Bashar al-Assad, and has become a transit point for Syrian refugees, as well as rebels and their weapons.
The area has been targeted on multiple occasions by Syrian regime forces, including in a June 12 attack that hit the centre of Arsal.
That raid prompted a rare warning from the Lebanese army, which threatened to respond if the attacks continued.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The Syrian conflict has increasingly spilled over into Lebanon, and has raised sectarian tensions in the fragile country, which experienced a devastating 1975-1990 civil war.
Lebanon's powerful Shiite Hezbollah movement has sent fighters to battle alongside the regime, and many Lebanese Sunnis sympathise with the Sunni-dominated Syrian opposition.