Lebanon's army vowed to battle "terrorism" hours after a suicide bomber killed three soldiers at a checkpoint in the east near the border with war-torn Syria.
"The army knows that it is now more than ever targeted by terrorists who want to prevent the establishment of the authority of the state and its attempts to eliminate discord," the military said in a statement issued late yesterday.
It came as a new security plan came into effect today aimed at quelling spillover violence from the conflict in Syria.
Under the new plan, the army will deploy more heavily in flashpoint areas of Arsal in the east and Lebanon in the north.
The military will also conduct raids aimed at arresting suspects, and in restive Tripoli the army will disarm fighters.
Lebanon's north and east have seen clashes and attacks between those who support the rebellion against Syria's President Bashar al-Assad and those who back Damascus.
The army command "will continue to fight and pursue terrorists, and is determined to implement the security plan... Whatever the sacrifices", the statement said.
But in a fresh incident today, the army defused a bomb that was set to explode at a military post in Tripoli, a security source said.
"The explosive device was times to explode at 5:00 pm (1400 GMT)," the source told AFP.
The narrowly averted attack comes a day after three soldiers were killed when a suicide bomber detonated his vehicle at an army checkpoint at Aqabet al-Jurd in the Arsal region.
Arsal, near the border with Syria, is a Sunni town where residents support the rebels fighting Assad's forces. The town also hosts tens of thousands of Syrian refugees.
