Lebanese army receives shipment of 'military equipment' from US

US Ambassador to Lebanon Elizabeth H. Richard told reporters at Beirut's port that the latest assistance is in "an entire ship full of military equipment."

A US Embassy statement said the shipment includes 50 armoured Humvees, 40 Howitzers and over 1,000 tons of ammunition.

The US has been speeding up delivery of ammunition to help Lebanon's military combat militant groups near the border with Syria.

"This year alone, we provided over $221 million in equipment and training to the Lebanese security forces," Richard said. "I'd also like to point out that Lebanon is the fifth largest recipient of United States foreign military financing in the world."

In March, Washington delivered three Huey II helicopters, raising to 10 the number of such US-made aircraft in Lebanon's fleet.

Washington has provided more than $1 billion in military assistance to Lebanon since 2006.

The conflict in neighbouring Syria has spilled over into the country, which hosts around 1.5 million Syrian refugees.

Clashes with extremist groups have occasionally flared along Lebanon's northern frontier.

Islamic State [IS] group and other militants attempted a number of incursions into Lebanon, with IS briefly seizing the border town of Arsal in 2014 before being pushed out by the Lebanese army.

Last November, twin bombings claimed by IS militants targeted the densely populated neighbourhood of Burj al-Barajneh killing 44 people.

The twin bombings came after a string of attacks in 2013 and 2014 targeted Lebanon's Hizballah Shia movement, citing their military support for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Agencies contributed to this report