Shehadeh Jawhar

Beirut - Lebanese security officials say two Palestinian militants allied to a pro al-Qaeda group have been killed in a clash with members of the mainstream Fatah movement in a southern refugee camp.

One of those killed was a member of the Jund al-Sham group, which followed the extremist ideology of al-Qaeda, and the other with an affiliated organisation.

Security officials said Shehadeh Jawhar, a Jund al-Sham military commander, had been critically wounded in Saturday's clash. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak to the media.

The clash took place in the Ein el-Hilweh camp, which had a population of 70 000 and was the largest of Lebanon's 12 Palestinian refugee camps.