(CNN) -- Twelve Lebanese soldiers have been killed in the southern city of Sidon since Sunday, in fighting with armed followers of Lebanese Sunni hardline cleric Sheikh Ahmed al-Asir, according to the Lebanese state news agency. Despite the casualties, the National News Agency reported that the Lebanese army had tightened its control over the al-Asir compound. Al-Asir is a vocal supporter of the Syrian rebels who have been fighting Hezbollah and the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. The violence from the ongoing civil war in Syria has frequently spilled over into Lebanon in recent months.
Lebanese state news agency: Government troops surround Sunni cleric's compound . Civil war violence from Syria spills over to Lebanon .