BEIRUT – A shootout erupted early Monday as Lebanese forces raided a nightclub north of Beirut, leaving eight people dead, including two officers and at least one member of a notorious crime family, the state-run news agency and the Lebanese army said.

The purpose of the raid at the White Night Club in the city of Jounieh was to apprehend fugitives, the reports said, without providing details. Four officers were also wounded in the firefight.

An army statement said army intelligence officers with the anti-drug department were conducting the raid when one of the fugitives they were trying to apprehend opened fire at them, killing the two officers.

Among the dead was at least one member of the Zoaiter family, the army said. The family is known in Lebanon for its drug dealings. Lebanon’s state National News Agency said two members of the family were dead, as well as two women.

It was not clear exactly how the other victims, including the women, were killed.

Military prosecutor Sakr Sakr opened an investigation to determine the full circumstances of the incident