Officials: Car bomb hits northeast Lebanese town close to Syrian border; casualties reported

BEIRUT – Lebanese security officials say a car bomb has struck a northeastern town close to the Syrian border and there are casualties.

The officials say the bomb went off in the center of the predominantly Shiite town of Hermel, which is near the Lebanon-Syria border. The officials did not provide details on the explosion or the casualties. They spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations.

It was the latest in a wave of attacks to hit Lebanon in recent months as the civil war in Syria increasingly spills over into its smaller neighbor.

The violence has targeted both Sunni and Shiite neighborhoods, further stoking sectarian tensions that are already running high as each community in Lebanon lines up behind its brethren in Syria on opposing sides of the war.