Tripoli, Lebanon - Coupled alongside immense posters of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and Syrian government flags, the faces of young men who died during violent clashes line the bullet-pocked walls of the Jabal Mohsen neighbourhood in this coastal city.

For years, Tripoli has endured periodic bloodshed between Jabal Mohsen's Alawite residents and their neighbours downhill in the predominantly Sunni area of Bab al-Tabbaneh in Tripoli.

Young men from both neighbourhoods have journeyed to Syria to take up arms. Yet, like in Tripoli, they find themselves on opposite sides of Syria's battlefield, with fighters from Jabal Mohsen joining the Syrian army or militias loyal to the Syrian government, which is controlled by Assad's Alawite sect.

Herve Bar and Fran Blandy, AFP

Paris (AFP) - Whether fluttering over the ruins of a captured city in Iraq or Syria, or in the background of gruesome execution videos, the black flag used by the Islamic State group has become an instantly recognisable symbol of modern global jihad.

Along with its slick Hollywood-style propaganda videos, experts say IS has harnessed bygone apocalyptic prophecies and Islamic symbols to carve out a brand even more potent than Al-Qaeda at the height of its notoriety.

The black standard has become so recognisable that "in the public's mind, any Muslim militant who waves a 'black flag' is ISIS," said William McCants, author of "The ISIS Apocalypse", which uses an alternative name for the group.

BEIRUT (Reuters) - The United States is providing the Lebanese army with a consignment of laser-guided artillery shells in an $8.6 million arms package intended to help Lebanon defend against cross-border incursions from Syria, the U.S. embassy said on Friday.

The package, which includes 50 Hellfire air-to-surface missiles and 560 artillery rounds including the "precision munitions", will boost the Lebanese army's ability "to secure Lebanon's borders against violent extremists," it said in a statement.

Lebanon, which is still rebuilding after its own 15-year civil war, has seen clashes between gunmen loyal to opposing sides in the Syrian conflict, as well as strikes on the army and cross-border attacks by Syrian rebels.

    Lebanese protesters are sprayed with water during a protest in Martyr square, Downtown Beirut, Lebanon October 8, 2015. Lebanese security …