Bomb in eastern Lebanon near Syria border wounds 2 soldiers

BEIRUT – Lebanese state media say that a roadside bomb near the country’s eastern border with Syria has wounded two Lebanese soldiers.

The National News Agency says the explosion struck an army vehicle in the Arsal region and that the wounds sustained by the troops were minor. The blast was followed by the soldiers opening fire with heavy weapons at militant positions nearby.

Violence from neighbouring Syria’s civil war has spilled across the border into Lebanon in the past. Islamic State and al-Qaida militants briefly seized the Lebanese border town of Arsal in 2014, before Lebanese security forces pushed them back to the frontier.

The Lebanese army shares security responsibilities with the Lebanese militant Hezbollah group in the area.