(MENAFN- Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)) BEIRUT, June 27 (KUNA) -- At least four suicide bombers blew themselves in the Lebanese border town of Al-Qaa at dawn on Monday killing themselves as well as five people, the official National News Agency (NNA) said.
The explosions that happened within minutes apart left 15 other people wounded in the town, located northeast of the ancient city of Baalbek and very close to the Syrian borders, NNA said.
The Lebanese Army, which maintains outposts in and outside the town, said in a statement, "one of the terrorists who was wearing an explosives-laden belt blew himself up in front of a civilian''s house in the town and shortly later, three others carried out identical bombings on a nearby road." Four troops were wounded in the explosions after dispatch of a military patrol to scene of the first explosion, the military said.
The troops have enforced a dragnet in and around the town, searching for other possible attackers, the army command added.
According to the local Al-Jadeed news network, the house occupant, who keeps a gun, woke up at dawn after hearing some noises nearby and when he went out to check out what was happening, he traded gunfire with the first bomber who quickly set off the explosives strapped to his body.
The local media also reported that the multiple bombings coincided with new attacks by Syrian opposition gunmen on the borders targeting the Lebanese Army outposts. Some media outlets reported that the so-called "Islamic States" (IS) claimed responsibility for the attack.
The blasts which occurred close to a border custom outpost in the remote region prompted the Lebanese Army to send in large numbers of troops and enforce immediate security precautions in and around the town.
The troops, deployed along the eastern borders with Syria, often engage with fighting against opposition Syrian gunmen in the border areas.
The IS and other militant groups based in Syria had launched such attacks in the past, taking many lives. Most of the attacks hit towns in eastern Lebanon and the southern suburb of Beirut, a main stronghold of Hezbollah, an arch foe of the Syrian opposition groups. (end) ayb.rk