Source: Yahoo News
Wire Service: Reuters
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/usa_lebanon_dc
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States said on Monday it had designated al Qaeda-inspired Fatah al-Islam, a militant group active in Lebanon, as a "terrorist" organization, subjecting it to U.S. financial sanctions.
Over the last 12 weeks, Fatah al-Islam has been fighting the Lebanese army at the Nahr al-Bared Palestinian refugee camp in North Lebanon in clashes that have killed at least 278 people and displaced some 40,000 refugees.
The group, which split from a Syrian-backed Palestinian faction last year, has Lebanese, Palestinians and other Arabs in its ranks, including some who have fought in Iraq. It says it supports al Qaeda's ideas but has no direct links.