Suicide attacker blows himself up at Lebanese army checkpoint after they suspected him

BEIRUT – A senior Lebanese army officer says a suicide attacker has blown himself up at an army checkpoint after soldiers tried to search his car.

The army general, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to brief journalists, says there was no immediate word on casualties from Saturday’s blast at the entrance of the town of Hermel.

Hermel is a stronghold of the Shiite Hezbollah group. A series of attacks have struck Shiite areas in Lebanon over the past months, killing and wounding scores of people.

A blast in the town earlier this month killed at least three people.