Three Lebanese soldiers were killed on Thursday in an exchange of fire with drug dealers in the Bekaa region east of Lebanon. The military raided the hideouts and residences of the suspects in the Hor Taala town in Bekaa. The suspects opened fire at the soldiers. Three military personnel and three suspects were killed in the clashes. The army besieged three suspects and killed three others. Several suspects managed to escape towards the border areas with Syria. Unnamed field sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that the army arrested a suspect of the same family last week. The mission was completed on Thursday to arrest the rest of the drug dealers who are also charged for counterfeit money. Security sources told Asharq al-Awsat that the suspects are involved in drug dealing and wanted inside Lebanon and abroad. The military had been tracking them for months, they said. Using a ScanEagle unmanned aerial vehicle, the military tracked the suspects who managed to flee towards the Syrian border. Drug dealers usually seek shelter in the Bekaa region near the Syrian border. The army consistently carries out raids in that area in search for them. “Army raids are carried out on a daily basis in the villages of Baalbek and Hermel,” security sources told Asharq Al-Awsat.