Lebanese army receives 130 US Humvees

The vehicles were delivered to the army chief, General Michel Sleiman, at a ceremony attended by Defence Minister Elias Murr, US Ambassador Jeffrey Feltman and the visiting head of US Central Command, Admiral William Fallon.

Feltman said US aid in 2007 would exceed 270 million dollars, or five times more than that last year.

The under-equipped Lebanese army deployed to the border with Israel last year for the first time in nearly four decades after the devastating summer war between the Jewish state and guerrillas of Lebanon's Shiite movement Hezbollah.

And since May of this year, it has been battling an Al-Qaeda inspired Islamist movement holed up in a Palestinian refugee camp at Nahr Al-Bared in the north of the country.

Feltman said: "Our partnership includes the commitment of the United States to provide the (armed forces) with the supplies they need to battle -- and conquer -- the armed extremists in the north.

"We are supplying the Lebanese Armed Forces with the equipment, armament, and training necessary to protect Lebanon and the Lebanese people from threats foreign and domestic," he said in a statement.

During his visit to Lebanon, Admiral Fallon also met with Prime Minister Fuad Siniora, who stressed the "need to adopt peaceful solutions to resolve the problems of the region," according to a statement from the premier's office.

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