Gunman wounds guard in attack on US Embassy in Lebanon, army investigates ISIS links

Agunmanfired shots at the USembassyin Lebanon on Wednesday and was wounded in an exchange of fire with troops, theLebanesearmy said.

The army said the attacker, a Syrian national, was detained and taken to hospital for treatment andsoldierswere searching through the area for other gunmen.

The USembassysaid small arms fire was reported near its entrance in the morning but that the facility and staff were safe. USambassador Lisa Johnson is currently travelling outside Lebanon, according to diplomatic sources.

A Lebanese security source told Reuters on Wednesday morning that a member of the embassy's Lebanese security team was lightly wounded. White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan later confirmed to NBC News that a Lebanese guard was wounded and was receiving treatment.

Theembassysaid it would remain closed to the public for the rest of Wednesday but planned to be open for business asusual on Thursday, June 6.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, but another seniorLebanesesecurity source told Reuters that the army was investigating possible links to the Islamic State group.

The source said the attacker had "ISIS" in English and "Islamic State" in Arabic written on clothes he was wearing.Lebanesesecurity forces have detained two sheikhs as well as the attacker's family, the source added.

Reuters verified pictures of the suspected attacker circulating online and geolocated them to near theembassy. Reuters verified part of the Arabic writing on his vest, which read "Islamic."

A Reuters cameraman sawLebanesesecurity forces setting up checkpoints around theembassyas a U.S.-made helicopter provided to theLebanesearmy circled above.

Lebanon's caretaker prime minister Najib Mikati said he was following up on the incident with the defence minister and security forces.

The USembassylies north of Beirut in a highly secured zone with multiple checkpoints along the route to the entrance. It moved there from Beirut following a suicide attack in 1983 which killed more than 60 people.

In September, shots were fired near theembassywith no injuries reported.

In mid-October, in the early days of the Gaza war, scores of protesters gathered outside theembassyto demonstrate.Lebanesesecurity forcesused tear gas and water cannons to repel them.

Lebanon has been the scene of conflict between Iran-backed Hezbollah and Israel since October in parallel to the Gaza war. Tens of thousands of people on both sides of the Israel-Lebanon border have been uprooted amid fears that the war will escalate.

The United States has been making diplomatic efforts to ease violence along the border.

In a separate incident, a member of Lebanon's internal security forces assigned to provide security at the Saudiembassyin Lebanon committed suicide outside theembassyon Wednesday, a security source and a diplomatic source said.

The security source said theembassyguard died aftershooting himself in the head. The diplomatic source said he suffered from mental health conditions.