The Lebanese army confirmed Friday that one soldier was killed when his transportation bus was fired upon in the northern Akkar region.
According to a statement by the Guidance Directorate, the army said soldier Jamal Jean al-Hashem was killed when assailants opened fire on a bus transporting troops on the Bireh road in Akkar.
Following the attack, the military deployed heavily in Akkar and erected checkpoints along the roads of Halba and Qobayyat. The troops also carried out raids in the area in search for the suspects, the statement said.
The shooting angered the residents of Qobayyat, who closed schools and announced a general mourning in the town.
The army said in another communique that armed men opened fire on Friday on two military patrols in the area of al-Bissar in the northern city of Tripoli.
The attacks did not cause any casualties but the army responded to the sources of fire, the communique said.
In the past few months, Lebanese military has been under increasing armed attacks mainly in the northern parts of the country.
On Aug. 2 the Syrian fundamentalists infiltrated the northeastern border town of Arsal and engaged in 5-day fierce battles with the Lebanese army, before withdrawing back to Syria after abducting at least 28 Lebanese soldiers and policemen.
Later the al-Qaeda-linked al-Nusra Front executed one soldier while the Islamic State beheaded two others.