Lebanese Army: Gunman attacked US embassy

The Lebanese army said on Wednesday that a gunman attempted to attack the US embassy near Beirut.

The Lebanese military said in a statement that soldiers shot dead an attacker they described only as a Syrian national. The gunman was injured and taken to a hospital.

Local media reported that a shootout lasted nearly half an hour near the US diplomatic mission in the Aukar suburb north of Beirut.

The U.S. Embassy said there were no casualties among staff in the morning attack at the embassy entrance and that Lebanese troops and embassy security were quickly mobilized.

The Lebanese military said it had deployed troops around the embassy and surrounding areas.

In 1983, 63 people were killed in a deadly bomb attack on the US embassy in Beirut. US authorities blame the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah for the attack.

After this attack, the embassy was moved from the center of Beirut to the Christian suburb of Aukar in the north of the capital. On September 20, 1984, the new location was hit by another bomb attack.

In September 2023, Lebanese security forces arrested a Lebanese man who opened fire near the U.S. Embassy. There were no injuries in this attack.

In October 2023, demonstrations in support of the people of the Gaza Strip and the militant group Hamas in the war against Israel led to clashes between hundreds of protesters and Lebanese security forces near the US Embassy.