US embassy in Lebanon 'not intimidated' by shots fired towards it - Ambassador

An undefined person or persons opened fire to the US Embassy in Beirut and some bullets hit the main gate of the building and the vehicles at a parking lot in Beirut, Lebanon [Houssam Shbaro/Anadolu Agency]

US ambassador to Lebanon, Dorothy Shea, on Friday said the embassy was “not intimidated” by a gunman’s shots towards its entrance earlier this week and that Lebanese authorities were investigating the incident, Reuters reports.

Late Wednesday, shots were fired near the US embassy, north of Beirut. Embassy spokesperson, Jake Nelson, said no one had been hurt and normal business operations were ongoing.

“We know that authorities are investigating this incident, whereby a gunman fired shots toward the US embassy the other night,” US ambassador, Dorothy Shea, said on Friday after meeting Lebanon’s caretaker Prime Minister, Najib Mikati.

“Please know that we at the US embassy are not intimidated by this incident, and our security protocols are very strong and our partnerships are ironclad,” she said.

Mikati also condemned what he described as an “attack on the American embassy”. There was no claim of responsibility for the gunfire and authorities have not provided details on the investigation.

The highly secured US embassy lies north of Beirut in the town of Awkar. Security incidents around it are rare. The embassy moved there from Beirut following a suicide attack in 1983 which killed more than 60 people.

READ: Lebanon shots fired at US Embassy

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