Beirut: A roadside bomb exploded near an army patrol in eastern Lebanon on Friday, wounding three soldiers, the military said.
The attack took place near the town of Arsal along the Syrian border, the Lebanese army said in a statement. A second patrol came to investigate the blast and exchanged fire with gunmen, who escaped into the mountains running along the frontier, the statement said.
The army later said that two bombs were found near the scene of the blast, each weighting 15 kilograms (33 pounds). It said military experts detonated one of them and are working to dismantle the second.
Militants from neighboring Syria briefly seized control of Arsal in August before withdrawing with more than two dozen Lebanese security forces as hostages. The army has clashed with gunmen in the area several times since then.
Also Friday, the US embassy said Vice Admiral Mark Fox, Deputy Commander of US Central Command, visited Lebanon and met with Prime Minister Tammam Salam, army commander Gen. Jean Kahwaji and other military officials.
“In his meetings, Vice Admiral Fox noted the success of the LAF in its recent battle against extremist militants in Arsal” and the northern city of Tripoli, the statement said, using the acronym for Lebanon’s army.
Fox “reaffirmed continued US support” to the Lebanese army and Lebanon’s security institutions, it said.
The US has been speeding up delivery of ammunition to help Lebanon’s military combat militant groups. Washington has provided more than $1 billion in military assistance to Lebanon since 2006.
