Islamic militants in n. Lebanon reach deal with army to evacuate families

A deal has been reached with Islamic extremists holed up in a Palestinian refugee camp in northern Lebanon to allow their families to leave the besieged area, a Muslim clergyman and senior military official said Friday. Sheik Mohammed al-Haj of the Palestinian Scholars' Association said he was contacted Friday by Fatah Islam spokesman Abu Salim Taha, requesting his mediation with the Lebanese army command for a truce to allow the remaining civilians - most of them relatives of the fighters - to leave the refugee camp.