Lebanon's defense minister declared victory Thursday over the Fatah Islam group, saying it had been crushed after a month-long military assault on its stronghold in a northern refugee camp and only mopping up remained, the Associated Press reported. A Muslim cleric who has been acting as a mediator said later that Fatah Islam agreed to stop firing, and calm descended over the Nahr el-Bared camp outside the port of Tripoli. The battle, Lebanon's worst internal violence since the 1975-90 civil war, killed 76 soldiers, at least 60 militants and more than 20 civilians. "The Lebanese army has destroyed all Fatah Islam positions," Defense Minister Elias Murr said on the private Lebanese Broadcasting Television. "The army is combing the area."
