Lebanese expert killed, 2 wounded while dismantling bomb near border with Syria

Lebanese army special forces patrol in an armored personnel carrier near the area where militants ambushed Lebanese soldiers, in Ras Baalbek town, eastern Lebanon, Wednesday, Dec. 3, 2014. On Tuesday, militants ambushed a Lebanese army patrol near the frontier, killing several soldiers and wounding one, Lebanon's military said. Lebanese troops have clashed repeatedly with militants along the border with Syria since August. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla) (The Associated Press)

Lebanese army special forces patrol near the area where militants ambushed Lebanese soldiers, in Ras Baalbek town, eastern Lebanon, Wednesday, Dec. 3, 2014. On Tuesday, militants ambushed a Lebanese army patrol near the frontier, killing several soldiers and wounding one, Lebanon's military said. Lebanese troops have clashed repeatedly with militants along the border with Syria since August. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla) (The Associated Press)

Lebanese army special forces patrol in armored personnel carriers near the area where militants ambushed Lebanese soldiers, in Ras Baalbek town, eastern Lebanon, Wednesday, Dec. 3, 2014. On Tuesday, militants ambushed a Lebanese army patrol near the frontier, killing several soldiers and wounding one, Lebanon's military said. Lebanese troops have clashed repeatedly with militants along the border with Syria since August. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla) (The Associated Press)

The Lebanese army says a military expert was killed and two others were wounded when a bomb they were about to dismantle exploded.

The army says the bomb was found on the outskirts of the town of Arsal near the border with Syria on Wednesday. The explosion came a day after militants ambushed an army patrol in the same region, killing six Lebanese soldiers.

No one has claimed responsibility for the attacks.

Lebanese troops have been battling Syria-based Islamic militants, including the extremist Islamic State group and the al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front, in areas near the border.

In August, the militant groups seized some 20 Lebanese soldiers and police officers during a brief cross-border raid on Arsal. The extremists have already killed three of the captives, beheading two of them.