Militants in the border town of Ersal killed three Lebanese Army soldiers at dawn Tuesday.

Militants in the border town of Ersal killed three Lebanese Army soldiers at dawn Tuesday.

National News Agency reported that unknown assailants opened fire at the soldiers’ checkpoint on the outskirt of Ersal.

Army command announced the martyrdom of the soldiers, adding that following the incident the army forces were carrying out intensified search operations in the area in a bid to arrest the militants who fled to the neighboring barren mountains.

“At 3:30 a.m. on Tuesday one of the army checkpoints in Wadi Hamid- Ersal was under attack by armed group who were riding a black Jeep,” the army command said in a statement.

“The army unit forces clashed with the assailants, something which led to the martyrdom of three soldiers,” the statement added.

Voice of Lebanon radio quoted security sources as saying that the gunmen fled into the Syrian territories after the incident.

Agence France Presse confirmed the incident, quoting a security official as saying: “"Three soldiers were killed by armed men while they were in a four-wheel drive vehicle east of Ersal.”

Two Lebanese soldiers were killed in February when members of an armed group ambushed their patrol that was in the area of Ersal to pursue a suspect wanted on terrorism charges.