Three Lebanese killed by Syrian raid on border town

Three Lebanese people were killed and two others injured late Monday in an air raid by Syrian government warplanes in the vicinity of the Lebanese border town of Arsal, a Lebanese security source said.

According to the source, Syrian fighter jets dropped explosives-laden barrels on a house in Ajram district in the vicinity of Arsal.

"The attack left three people dead and two others injured – all from the same family," the source told The Anadolu Agency on the condition of anonymity.

Lebanon's official news agency said Tuesday the strikes hit the outskirts of the border town of Arsal.

Local residents said a house was among the targets of the raids.

The town of Arsal and the area around it are largely Sunni Muslim, and residents sympathise with the uprising against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Lebanon has been hard hit by the ongoing conflict in neighbouring Syria, currently hosting hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees who have fled the violence back home.

The small coastal country has also recently seen a surge in militant attacks in response to the role of Lebanon's Hezbollah in the Syria conflict, where the Shiite militant group continues to fight alongside pro-Assad forces.

On Monday, a member of Hezbollah was injured when a bomb went off in the eastern town of Arsal on the border with Syria.

"A bomb exploded under the car of Hassan Ezzeddin in central Arsal," a Lebanese security source told The Anadolu Agency.

According to a medical source, Ezzeddin sustained serious injuries and was rushed to hospital.

There has been no claim of responsibility for the blast.

The nearby border is long and porous, and has proved an easy crossing point for smugglers, refugees and fighters.

Arsal was also the scene of deadly clashes between Lebanese army troops and militants in August, leaving at least 17 soldiers dead.

Militants took some 30 Lebanese police and soldiers as hostages, and have since executed four of them.