Reports: Gunmen open fire, wound Sunni sheik in Lebanese city plagued by sectarian clashes

BEIRUT – Lebanese media say gunmen have seriously wounded a Sunni sheik in the volatile northern city of Tripoli.

The official National News Agency says two men on a motorcycle sprayed Sheik Saad El-Deen Ghieh's car with gunfire early on Tuesday. Ghieh was taken to hospital and was said to be in critical condition.

The reports say soldiers have deployed to the area to prevent fighting following the attack.

Sectarian clashes linked to neighboring Syria's civil war have long plagued Tripoli, where residents are bitterly split between supporters and opponents of Syrian President Bashar Assad's government. Clashes have killed scores so far.

The Bab Tabbaneh district is largely Sunni Muslim, as are Syria's rebels. The Jabal Mohsen neighborhood is dominated by residents of Assad's Alawite sect, a Shiite offshoot.