Lebanese and American officials gathered Wednesday in a training field in the Baalbek area of al-Taybeh to mark the delivery of more than 200 anti-tank missiles the United States says will help Lebanon’s army defend its borders against terrorists.

The 200 U.S.-made TOW-II missiles and launchers, valued more than $10 million, were delivered in late May as part of a joint U.S.-Saudi effort to support Lebanon’s army, said U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon David Hale. 

"We are absolutely committed to making sure that the army has the capacity to be the sole defender of Lebanese territory and its borders, and is answerable to the state and to the Lebanese people through the state," he said.

Lebanese soldiers fired TOW missiles and artillery, drove through the hills of the Bekaa Valley, and flew over the area in helicopters.

The four-year civil war in neighboring Syria has seen violence spill over into Lebanon.

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