The Nahr al-Bared camp, one of 12 Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon, has been torn apart by a month of fighting that has left more than 150 people dead, including 73 Lebanese soldiers. More than half of the camp's 40,000 residents have fled.
The latest fatalities bring the Lebanese army's death toll at the camp up to 74 since fighting began on May 20.
According to Lebanese media, 45 militants were killed Monday and at least 60 in the previous few days. In addition, about 30 dead Islamist fighters were discovered in a mass grave near a mosque in the central part of Nahr al-Bared.
The National News Agency Monday cited the army as saying it had destroyed the headquarters in the camp of Islamist group Fatah al-Islam, reportedly linked to al-Qaeda, and was close to destroying all of the militants' positions. The army said it would conclude its operation within a few days.
The agency quoted Lebanese Armed Forces Commander Michele Suleiman as saying: "Those terrorists have no other way out, but to lay down their arms and surrender to the authorities."
The Lebanese army is forbidden from entering the boundaries of Palestinian refugee camps under the Cairo Agreement signed between Lebanon and the Palestinian Liberation Organization in 1969.
