Syria Allies Win Lebanon Battle

The Syrian-backed Shia Muslim Amal militia held control of south Lebanon today after a four-day battle with Iranian-backed rivals, police said. The fighting killed 62 people and wounded 150.

Justice Minister Nabih Berri’s mainstream Amal militia held all major towns and villages in the south and their supply routes, police said. Die-hard fighters of the Iranian-backed fundamentalist Hezbollah, or Party of God, were holed up in three hamlets west of the market town of Nabatiyeh with Shia mediators negotiating terms for their surrender and safe conduct.