BEIRUT: Two Lebanese Army personnel were killed in Majdal Anjar Thursday during a raid to arrest an escaped soldier.

The head of Lebanese Army Intelligence in Masnaa, 41-year-old Major Abdo Jasser, and 32-year-old First Sergeant Ziyad Shuman Mais were shot and killed during a chase to find Army deserter Darwish Hamza.

Hamza had escaped from his house, accompanied by his brother, and the two men were being chased by an army patrol.

“Units from the Army Intelligence and the Military Police had caught Hamza, when the deserter’s brother and a group of armed people confronted the patrol and opened fire in its direction,” the Central News Agency (CNA) said.

Jasser and Mais were killed in the shoot-out and their bodies transferred to hospital. The Lebanese Army cordoned off the Bekaa town of Majdal Anjar and conducted several raids in a bid to arrest the culprits.

Units from the army commandoes intervened and a number of suspects were arrested, including a wounded member of the Ajaj family.

The army issued a statement following the incident and said “a Military Police patrol was chasing army deserters in Majdal Anjar when it was confronted by gunshots from a group of armed people, who have been identified.”

The statement said the army would continue its raids until all suspects were caught, adding that it anyone offering refuge to the perpetrators would be considered “wanted.”

In April, three soldiers were killed in an ambush on a patrol in the Bekaa when a prominent clan sought revenge for the killing of one of their members, a drug baron who refused to stop at an army checkpoint.

The Future Movement condemned the crime and stressed the importance of the army as a guarantee for the Lebanese.

“The safety of the army’s members, officers and command represents the safety of the nation and its entire people,” the movement said.

Majdal Anjar locals voiced support for the army, announcing their readiness to “cooperate in handing in wanted suspects.”