An attack on the US embassy in Lebanon was thwarted after a Syrian man opened fire and was captured.
The man was arrested after the shooting near the US embassy in Beirut on Wednesday, the Lebanese military said, and the embassy said its staff were safe.
The embassy, in the northern suburb of Awkar, “came under fire from a person of Syrian nationality.” the military said in a statement on X, formerly Twitter.
“Army personnel deployed in the area responded to the outbreak of fire, wounding the shooter,” the statement said, adding that “he was detained and taken to a hospital.”
The attack came after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned that Israel was “prepared for very intense action in the north” on a visit to a border town hit by Hezbollah rockets.
Lebanese security officers stand guard on a road leading to the US embassy in Aukar, a northern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, on Wednesday.
The US embassy said that “at 8:34 am (05:34 GMT)… small arms fire was reported in the vicinity of the entrance.”
“Thanks to the quick reaction” of the Lebanese army, security forces “and our embassy security team, our facilities and equipment are safe,” he said on X.
He added that “investigations are underway and we are in close contact with the host country authorities.”
The Lebanese army said it was investigating the shooting.
An AFP photographer said access to the area around the embassy was blocked and the army was heavily deployed in the area.
In images posted on social media, a man can be heard saying in Arabic “there is an attack on the embassy,” while gunshots are heard in the background.
A judicial source told AFP that security forces were combing wooded areas near the embassy for accomplices, adding that the shooter’s injuries were “serious”.
Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati spoke with an army and security service official, who assured him that “the situation is under control,” according to a statement from his office.
Lebanese special forces sit in their vehicle while patrolling on a road leading to the US embassy in Auka.
A general view of part of the US embassy complex in Aukar, a northern suburb of Beirut.
“An investigation is underway to determine the circumstances of the incident and arrest all those involved,” the statement said, adding that US Ambassador Lisa Johnson is currently outside Lebanon.
In September of last year, a gunman opened fire on the US embassy, causing no casualties.
Lebanese police alleged that the shooter was a delivery driver seeking revenge for alleged humiliation by security personnel.
That shooting coincided with the anniversary of a deadly 1984 car bombing outside the U.S. Embassy annex in Beirut, which the U.S. blamed on the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah.
U.S. diplomatic and military missions in Lebanon were attacked several times during the 1975-1990 civil war, when hardline Islamists also took several American hostages.
The embassy moved to Awkar after it was hit by a suicide bomb attack in April 1983 that killed 63 people.
