Clashes intensified on Thursday between the Syrian regime troops and gunmen along the Lebanese-Syrian border with shelling and gunfire targeting Khat al-Petrol village in the Akkar border area of Wadi Khaled.
According to the state-run National News Agency, heavy gunfire and shelling from the Syrian side of the border targeted the northern town as battles were stepped up along the border.
The NNA reported that mortar shells hit at dawn the banks of Nahr al-Kabir in northern Lebanon.
Ambulances had rushed to Khat al-Patrol town after casualties were reported.
Houses along the border were also damaged during the gunbattles.
The news agency said that the battles are in the cross-border town of Bqayaa.
Media reports said that 20 Syrians wounded in the clashes were admitted to a hospital in the nearby town of al-Qobayat for treatment.
Later, the NNA reported that Syrian authorities closed the legal border crossing in Bqayaa, causing traffic to come to a halt in both directions.
Several border areas in the north and east have been frequently struck by cross-border shelling, while the Syrian regime has told Lebanon to better control its porous border to prevent the smuggling of fighters and arms.
