Three Lebanese soldiers and three suspects wanted for drug trafficking were killed Thursday in a gun battle during a raid in the eastern Bekaa region bordering Syria, the army said.

Troops were carrying out searches in the village of Haour Taala in the homes of “people wanted for drug trafficking” when the soldiers came under attack, with the officers opening fire in response.

“Three soldiers and three wanted men were killed during the clashes,” the army said.

The army often carries out raids in the Bekaa region hunting drug smugglers amid efforts to counter a surge in captagon production and trafficking after backlash from Gulf nations.

Captagon pills, an amphetamine that is wreaking havoc in the region, are produced mainly in Syria and smuggled to the main consumer markets in the Gulf.