Lebanon: Militants abandon some positions

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
A senior militant commander said Saturday his fighters have abandoned some positions but denied the Lebanese army has advanced into the Palestinian refugee camp where the militants are holed up. "We have tactically evacuated from a part of the northern area of the camp," said Abu Hureira, the military commander of the Fatah Islam militant group. He told The Associated Press by cellular phone that the militants were fighting a Lebanese army offensive. "Morale was high," he said, vowing never to surrender. "Let them come," he said of the army. Lebanese security officials said earlier that troops had defeated some Fatah Islam militants and taken over their positions.