Lebanese army surrounds Islamist gunmen as Syrian crisis spreads

Lebanese army soldiers take defensive positions behind their armoured carrier during clashes with gunmen of hardline Sunni Muslim cleric Sheikh Ahmed al-Assir, in Sidon, southern Lebanon, June 24, 2013. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir

SIDON, Lebanon (Reuters) - Lebanese soldiers fought Sunni Islamist gunmen in the southern city of Sidon for a second day on Monday in one of the deadliest outbreaks of violence fuelled by sectarian rifts over the civil war in neighbouring Syria.

The Lebanese army entered a mosque complex to the east of the ancient Mediterranean port city, where hardline Sunni cleric Sheikh Ahmed al-Assir was believed to be sheltering with his supporters, a Lebanese security source said.