Arsal: A bomb attack on a Lebanese military patrol killed two soldiers and wounded three others Friday near the border with war-torn Syria, the army said.
"Two soldiers were killed and three wounded when a bomb exploded as a military vehicle was headed for Arsal," the army said in a statement.
Residents said the attack took place in an area on the outskirts of Arsal called Wadi Hmeid.
They said Lebanese military surveillance aircraft overflew the area after the blast. Security forces cordoned off the area, a journalist said.
An officer had said earlier that the truck was probably hit by a rocket-propelled grenade.
The flashpoint town of Arsal has been hit by the spillover from the conflict in neighbouring Syria.
Last month, it was the scene of a major battle between the Lebanese army and jihadists who had streamed across the frontier.
Extremists in Lebanon view the army as backing Shiite Hezbollah, which has sent thousands of fighters into Syria to support President Bashar al-Assad`s forces battle rebels trying to oust him.
After the battle in August, the jihadists took with them about 30 captured Lebanese soldiers and policemen. Two of them have since been beheaded.
Arsal has a majority Sunni population that generally backs the anti-Assad revolt.
But it is located in the Bekaa Valley where the majority are Shiites who support Hezbollah and Assad`s regime.
