A security guard is injured in the attack, which comes amid heightened fears of a wider war between Lebanon and Israel.
A gunman opened fire on the U.S. Embassy in the Lebanese capital on Wednesday, injuring a security guard before being wounded in return fire and apprehended, the Lebanese army and embassy officials said.
The gunman’s motive remains unclear, but the attack, which took place at 8:34 a.m. local time according to an embassy statement, comes amid widespread popular anger here over U.S. support for Israel’s ongoing campaign in Gaza.
Tensions have also been rising along Lebanon’s southern border with Israel, where Israeli troops and forces with the Lebanese Shiite group Hezbollah have traded fire for months in an escalating tit-for-tat fight.
The Lebanese army said the gunman, a Syrian national living in the Lebanese border town of Majdal Anjar, was detained and taken to a hospital for investigation.
The army said it also arrested three family members of the gunman, along with a Syrian national and a Lebanese citizen.
The embassy said in its statement that “small arms fire was reported in the vicinity” of the embassy’s entrance.
“Thanks to the quick reaction of host country security forces and our embassy security team, our facility and our team are safe,” the statement said.
