BEIRUT – A Jordanian soldier was killed in clashes with armed militants trying to cross the border into Syria Monday and sectarian clashes overnight in Lebanon left four dead as Syria's civil war spilled into neighboring countries. Jordanian Information Minister Sameeh Maaytah said the soldier was the first member of the country's military to be killed in violence related to Syria's civil war. He died in clashes with militants trying to illegally enter Syria to join rebels fighting President Bashar Assad's regime. Maaytah did not say whether the militants were Jordanians or foreign fighters trying to jump into the fray in the neighboring country. A statement by the Jordanian military said the soldier was killed in a shootout with a group of eight suspected militants armed with pistols and machine-guns. Jordanian troops detained the suspected gunmen and authorities are questioning them, the statement said. In Lebanon, troops launched a major security operation to open all roads and force gunmen off the streets, trying to contain an outburst of violence set off by the assassination of a top intelligence official who was a powerful opponent of Syria. Sectarian clashes overnight killed at least two people. Sporadic cracks of gunfire could be heard in the Lebanese capital as troops began the operation a day after the funeral for the slain official, Brig. Gen. Wissam Al-Hassan. Opponents of Syria have blamed the regime in Damascus for the Al-Hassan's killing in a Beirut car bomb Friday. With Lebanon already tense and deeply divided over the civil war next door, the assassination has threatened to drag the country back into the kind of sectarian strife that plagued it for decades — much of it linked to Syria. Meanwhile, ceasefire efforts by UN and Arab League envoy to Syria Lakhdar Brahimi appeared to be faltering. Syria's state-run news agency SANA said Damascus supports the truce proposal, but would not commit to halting fire during a four-day Muslim holiday. Brahimi met Assad in Damascus Sunday as part of his push for a ceasefire between rebels and government forces for the Eid Al-Adha holiday, which begins Oct. 26. He told reporters following a closed-door meeting that he also had held talks earlier with opposition groups inside and outside the country and received “promises” but not a “commitment” from them to honor the cease-fire. EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton urged the international community to support Brahimi and his ceasefire proposal. Ashton toured the Zaatari refugee camp Monday, the first day of her five-day visit to the Middle East. – Agencies
