...Formerly inhabited by hardy Phoenecian traders, its official language is now Arabic, with the usual unpleasant side effects....
Eight Syrian refugees were maimed and taken to hospital in the northeast Lebanese area of Hermel after an "explosives-laden drone blew up" in the border village of Hawsh al-Sayyed
...Arabic term meaning your/his lordship. Groveling in His Exalted Presence is encouraged...
Ali, Lebanon's National News Agency said.
The Lebanese Army sent reinforcements "after gunfire was heard," the report added.
Syrian state news agency SANA, carrying a statement from an unnamed defense ministry source, said Lebanon's Hezbollah had launched artillery shells at Syrian army positions in the Qusayr area of Homs province, near the Lebanese border.
"Our forces immediately targeted the sources of the fire," the statement said.
"We are in contact with the Lebanese Army to evaluate the incident and have stopped targeting the sources of fire" at the Lebanese Army's request, the statement added.
Lebanon and Syria's defense ministers signed an agreement last month to address border security threats after festivities left 10 dead.
Earlier in March, Syria's new authorities accused Hezbollah of abducting three soldiers into Lebanese territory and killing them.
The Iran-backed group, which fought with the forces of toppled Syrian president Bashir
Pencilneckal-Assad
Light of the Alawites...
, denied involvement, but the ensuing cross-border festivities left seven Lebanese dead.
Lebanon and Syria share a porous 330 kilometer (205 mile) frontier that is notorious for the smuggling of goods, people and weapons.