Suicide bomber attacks Lebanese army in north -security sources

An Islamic State suicide bomber detonated an explosive vest in an attack on a Lebanese army post in the north of the country on Friday, lightly injuring several soldiers, security sources said.

Security forces also seized two cars rigged with explosives before they could be detonated in the same area - near the town of Arsal close to the Syrian border, the sources said.

Lebanon's army has regularly clashed with Islamist militants around Arsal who often come across the porous border with Syria.

The six-year Syrian conflict has sometimes spilled over into its smaller neighbour Lebanon, including bomb attacks in Beirut in 2014 and 2015.

Militants briefly overran Arsal town itself in 2014 before being driven out by the army.

The army says it still regularly stages operations targeting Islamic State and former al Qaeda-linked militants in the mountainous border region.

Hezbollah, Lebanon's powerful Shi'ite group, recently said it was dismantling all its military positions along the eastern border with Syria, and this area would now be patrolled just by the Lebanese army.

(This article has not been edited by DNA's editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)