Al Qaida inspired group claims suicide bombing attack against Lebanese soldiers that killed 3

BEIRUT – An al-Qaida linked group is claiming responsibility for a suicide bombing against Lebanese soldiers that killed at least three people, the latest attack linked to the neighbouring Syrian war.

The Nusra Front in Lebanon said in a statement on Twitter late Saturday that one of their followers blew himself up at an army checkpoint in the northeastern town of Hermel earlier in the day.

The group said it was targeting the Shiite-dominated town in retaliation for the Shiite militant group Hezbollah fighting alongside troops of Syrian President Bashar Assad. They didn’t mention targeting soldiers, but Lebanese extremist Sunni groups typically view the army as working in step with Hezbollah.

The Nusra Front in Lebanon appears inspired by an al-Qaida-linked rebel brigade in Syria sharing the same name.