A civilian and two Lebanese army soldiers were martyred on Saturday in a massive suicide car bomb that targeted an army checkpoint at the entrance of the Bekaa town of Hermel

A civilian and two Lebanese army soldiers were martyred on Saturday in a massive suicide car bomb that targeted an army checkpoint at the entrance of the Bekaa town of Hermel, in eastern Lebanon.

The blast killed two troops, among them an army officer, and wounded five others while other 10 civilians were also lightly injured in the bombing.

Immediately after the attack, military police imposed a security cordon on the region, as they searched for suspects and evidence, said the National News Agency (NNA). The agency also said Lebanon's judicial authorities ordered the collection of evidence at the scene of the blast, as well as a DNA test on the remains of the attacker's body.

The NNA provided details on the moment of the explosion: “When army troops asked the driver to turn the lights on inside the car, he refused to do so and then detonated the vehicle.”

Media reports also said the checkpoint was not the target.

The terrorist group in Lebanon, Al-Nusra Front, later declared responsibility for the terrorist explosion.

The attack comes just four days after eleven people were martyred in a twin bomb attack in Bir Hassan, Beirut. And on February 1 a car bombing killed four people at a petrol station in Hermel, in an attack later claimed by the terrorist Al-Nusra Front in Lebanon.