A Syrian national opened fire at the entrance of the US Embassy in Beirut, Lebanon, on Wednesday morning, the U.S. Embassy wrote on X.
The attacker, who was injured in return fire, was arrested and driven to the hospital, reported Al Jazeera the same day .
The Lebanese army posted on X that it opened an investigation into the incident which lasted about a half hour, and revealed the nationality of the gunman, without giving additional details.
A member of the embassy’s security staff was allegedly wounded, and the army has been scanning the area for any more prospective assailants.
A photo of the gunman circulating on social media showed a “bloodied man” with a vest with “Islamic State” in Arabic written on it, and “I” and “S” initials in Latin letters, said Al Jazeera.
Al Jazeera’s reporter in Beirut Zeina Khodr said that there has been a “heavy security presence” outside the embassy since the attack, and the Lebanese army is not allowing people to get close to the crime scene.
The event occurred amid rising regional tensions with Israel’s continued bombardment of Gaza