Lebanese army receives 3rd batch of U.S. military aid

BEIRUT, Feb. 4 (Xinhua) -- The Lebanese army has received the third batch of arms supplied by the U.S. at the port of Beirut, the army's Orientation Directorate said Sunday.

"The eight M2A2 Bradley Fighting vehicles - carriers of armed troops with a gun platform - were delivered Saturday as part of a larger U.S. military assistance program to Lebanon launched last year," it said in a statement.

Under the program, the army will receive a total of 32 such vehicles, in addition to six MD 530G light attack helicopters, six Scan-Eagle unmanned aerial vehicles, as well as communications and night vision devices, it added.

Last year, the Lebanese army received eight Bradley Fighting vehicles and six A-29 Super Tucano light attack aircraft from the United States.

Since the war erupted between Israel and Lebanon's Shiite Hezbollah movement in 2006, the Lebanese army has received U.S. military assistance worth more than 1.5 billion U.S. dollars. The U.S. special forces have also provided training and support to the Lebanese troops. Enditem