2 Lebanese Soldiers Killed as Airstrike Hits Near Lebanese Army Checkpoint

Smoke rises as a result of an Israeli airstrike at the village of Al Khiam in southern Lebanon, as seen from the Israeli side of the border, northern Israel, on 03 October 2024. (EPA)
Smoke rises as a result of an Israeli airstrike at the village of Al Khiam in southern Lebanon, as seen from the Israeli side of the border, northern Israel, on 03 October 2024. (EPA)
TT

2 Lebanese Soldiers Killed as Airstrike Hits Near Lebanese Army Checkpoint

Smoke rises as a result of an Israeli airstrike at the village of Al Khiam in southern Lebanon, as seen from the Israeli side of the border, northern Israel, on 03 October 2024. (EPA)
Smoke rises as a result of an Israeli airstrike at the village of Al Khiam in southern Lebanon, as seen from the Israeli side of the border, northern Israel, on 03 October 2024. (EPA)

Two Lebanese soldiers were killed and three others wounded in an Israeli airstrike that hit a building near a Lebanese Army checkpoint in Kafra, Bint Jbeil province, the Lebanese Army said Friday.

Since Israel launched its ground invasion of Lebanon, Israeli forces and Hezbollah fighters have clashed along the border while the Lebanese army has largely stood on the sidelines.

As Israeli troops made their first forays across the border and Hezbollah responded with rocket fire, Lebanese soldiers withdrew from observation posts along the frontier and repositioned about 5 km back.

On Oct. 3, a Lebanese soldier was killed and another injured in an Israeli strike in Taybeh during rescue operations. On Sept. 30, another Lebanese soldier was killed by an Israeli drone targeting a Lebanese Army checkpoint in Wazzani.



Türkiye Says Over 273,000 Syrian Refugees Have Returned Home

FILE - Syrian refugee Ahmed al-Kassem and his family drive a truck loaded with their belongings from Türkiye, on the their way back to the family's home in Aleppo, Syria, Friday, Dec. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra, File)
FILE - Syrian refugee Ahmed al-Kassem and his family drive a truck loaded with their belongings from Türkiye, on the their way back to the family's home in Aleppo, Syria, Friday, Dec. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra, File)
TT

Türkiye Says Over 273,000 Syrian Refugees Have Returned Home

FILE - Syrian refugee Ahmed al-Kassem and his family drive a truck loaded with their belongings from Türkiye, on the their way back to the family's home in Aleppo, Syria, Friday, Dec. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra, File)
FILE - Syrian refugee Ahmed al-Kassem and his family drive a truck loaded with their belongings from Türkiye, on the their way back to the family's home in Aleppo, Syria, Friday, Dec. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra, File)

More than 273,000 Syrians who fled their country's civil war to neighboring Türkiye have returned home since the fall of president Bashar al-Assad in December, Türkiye's vice-president said Friday.

"The number of people who have voluntarily returned to Syria since December 8, 2024 has exceeded 273,000," Cevdet Yilmaz was quoted as saying by the official Anadolu news agency.

Some 2.7 million Syrian refugees are still in Türkiye, according to interior ministry figures released in May.

The Turkish government, which supports Syria's new rulers, is hoping to accelerate the return of refugees to ease tensions generated by their presence in parts of the country.