Lebanon: Masked gunmen kill army officer in north

BEIRUT (AP) — Lebanese state media say masked gunmen have killed an army officer in the northern city of Tripoli, which has been hard-hit by Syria-related clashes.

National News Agency says officer Fadi Jbaili died after two attackers opened fire from a motorcycle in central Tripoli on Thursday morning.

The attack took place just hours after the Lebanese army brought reinforcements to the city. Tripoli has seen some of the worst fighting in Lebanon related to the civil war next door in Syria.

Gun battles frequently break out between two of the city's impoverished rival neighborhoods, one dominated by Sunni Muslims who support Syrian rebels, and the other by Alawites, members of a Shiite sect. Syrian President Bashar Assad is Alawite.

Clashes in Tripoli have killed 24 people over the past days alone.