BEIRUT — Three Lebanese army soldiers were killed when they came under fire while raiding the home of a wanted militant in northern Lebanon, the army said in a statement overnight.

The patrol from Lebanese army intelligence was attacked with gunfire and a hand grenade when it raided the house near the city of Tripoli in the Minyeh Jabal Al-Bedawi area, the army said. A fourth soldier was seriously wounded.

The army said in the statement that it is pursuing the individuals who opened fire on its men in order to arrest them.

Earlier in September the army arrested members of a "terror cell" linked to Daesh (so-called IS) who where carrying out operations inside Lebanon.

The cell was linked to a shooting in August that saw gunmen kill three people in the north Lebanon village of Kaftoun. — Agencies