NAHR AL-BARED, Lebanon - Bearded young Palestinians parade with rocket-launchers during training in north Lebanon organised by Fatah al-Islam, a tiny group accused of terror attacks and links with Al-Qaeda.

The new recruits also carry assault rifles and heavy machine guns as they march alongside militant Abu Salim, who hides his face under a red-and-white chequered headscarf.

"Our main objective is to combat the Jews in Palestine. We want to plant the banner of Islam in Palestine," Abu Salim told AFP.

He said Fatah al-Islam, which first came to be known last November, "offers military training to young Palestinians" in a field near the sea at the Nahr al-Bared camp that houses about 22,000 refugees.

The training generally takes place at night to maintain secrecy. The recruits learn how to handle the arms near one of the group's offices in the camp under the watchful eye of black-clad guards.

In a hangar, the militants are introduced to medium and heavy weaponry, including anti-tank rocket launchers and cannons.

The Palestinian group counts about 150 militants among its ranks, some of whom have fought against the US-led coalition in Iraq. The group also has the largest arsenal among the various armed factions in Nahr al-Bared.

Fatah al-Islam leader Shaker Abssi and other senior officials from the group were once members of the Damascus-based radical Palestinian movement Fatah-Intifada.

Lebanon has been shaken by a spate of political violence over the past three years, notably a series of assassinations targeting figures opposed to the country's once-dominant neighbour Syria.

Last week, Lebanese Interior Minister Hassan Sabeh said detained members of Fatah al-Islam had admitted carrying out bus bombings in a mountain village on February 13 that killed three people.

But Fatah al-Islam denied any involvement in the attacks, and accused the government of preparing to launch an offensive against the dozen camps which house about half of the 400,000 Palestinian refugees in Lebanon.

The Lebanese armed forces do not have access to the camps which are controlled by Palestinian armed factions.

A member of Fatah al-Islam was killed and four other people wounded in clashes in Nahr al-Bared on Monday.

Abu Salim, who refuses to give exact figures about the group's arsenal, boasts that the militants were attracting a growing number of recruits from Nahr al-Bared and the 11 other Palestinian camps across the country.

"Young Palestinians who believe that Islam is their priority in life are attracted by our 'Jihad' (holy struggle). They come to take military courses and listen to our preachers," Abu Salim said.

About 20 youngsters stood outside a Fatah al-Islam office where the group's militants were accepting condolences for the militant killed in Monday's clashes.

Asked who the enemies of Fatah al-Islam were, one recruit replied: "All those who do not believe in the Koran and the Sharia," or Islamic teachings.

Ayman, holding a school bag in one hand, said he was "fascinated" by the Islamist group.

"The headquarters (of Fatah-al-Islam) are on the way from school -- I go there on my way to and from lessons."

The group seems to have adequate financing, but Abu Salim insisted that the main reason new recruits were attracted was Fatah al-Islam's religious message.

The group's flag is black, bearing a sole inscription: "There is no God but God, and Mohammed is the prophet of God."

Abu Salim denied that his militants were linked to the Al-Qaeda terror network, although he said the two groups "follow the same (religious) line and methodology." -AFP