U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon on Friday condemned a bomb attack near the Lebanese southern city of Sidon that seriously injured two Italian peacekeepers, pledging to "bring the perpetrators to justice."

"I condemn the attack on the U.N. peacekeepers which happened today in Lebanon," Ban said in a statement. "It is all the more deplorable because today is the International Day of the United Nations Peacekeepers."

Six Italian peacekeepers were wounded -- two of them seriously -- along with two civilians on Friday in a roadside bomb explosion targeting a U.N. patrol along a highway near the Lebanese southern city of Sidon, officials said.

"There was an explosion late afternoon that targeted a U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) logistics convoy along the main highway near Sidon," UNIFIL spokesman Neeraj Singh told Agence France Presse.

Security sources in Sidon revealed that a clash erupted Wednesday night between security guards at a Mall in Sidon and five armed individuals, causing a state of panic among the residents, As Safir newspaper reported on Thursday.

“The individual incident was caused by the rejection of the mall administration to hire a group of youths,” the newspaper said.