At least 27 soldiers and 20 militants had been killed, Lebanese security officials told the Associated Press Monday, but the officials said they did not know how many civilians had been killed inside the camp because it is off-limits to their authority.
The State Department stands "ready to assist incarcerated citizens and their families within the limits of our authority in accordance with international law, " the agency says.
In Pittsburgh, the cradle of the American energy industry in the 19th century, banned new drilling projects within city limits in 2010, but the state is challenging the authority of cities to issue such bans.
Individual towns and cities have their own Legal Traffic Authority (LTA) that sets their own speed limits, and sometimes even have to obtain approval from the state DOT before implementing them.