BEIRUT: A wanted suspect escaped a Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) patrol on Thursday and dumped the body of another suspect after exchanging gunshots with LAF soldiers near the village of Hawr Taala in the Bekaa. The soldiers encountered a suspected vehicle near the village of Haw Taala and ordered its driver, Mohammad Ismail Ismail, to stop. The driver however did not comply and fired gunshots at the patrol before escaping in the direction of Dar al-Amal Hospital in Baalbek. The body of Safaa Mohammad Tlays, previously suspected of several crimes, was thrown out of the vehicle during the chase while Ismail was able to escape in spite of being injured. The LAF patrol was in the village of Hawr Taala at the time in an attempt to arrest suspect Ali Mohammad al-Masri who was accused of killing two soldiers in the town of Riyaq. When the patrol did not find Masri in his house it headed outside the village where it encountered the suspected vehicle. Investigations are ongoing to locate both Ismail and Masri and calls are being made to provide Ismail with medical care, according to the LAF. – The Daily Star