Roadside Bomb Targets Army Vehicle in Arsal

A roadside bomb targeted an army vehicle on Monday outside the restive northeastern border town of Arsal, state-run National News Agency reported.

An army statement said five troops were lightly injured in the blast, noting that the three-kilogram roadside bomb was remotely detonated and that it contained small pieces of metal aimed at maximizing injuries.

The blast went off near a “transmission pole” in the Ras al-Sarj area at Arsal's entrance, NNA said.

LBCI television said the targeted vehicle was a Humvee.

Military sources told Voice of Lebanon radio (100.5) that the bomb exploded shortly after the vehicle passed by it.

Militants from the extremist Islamic State group and Fateh al-Sham Front -- formerly al-Nusra Front -- are entrenched in rugged areas along the undemarcated Lebanese-Syrian border and the army regularly shells their posts while Hizbullah and the Syrian army have engaged in clashes with them on the Syrian side of the border.

The two groups briefly overran the town of Arsal in August 2014 before being ousted by the army after days of deadly battles.

The retreating militants abducted more than 30 troops and policemen of whom four have been executed and nine remain in the captivity of the IS group.