Lebanon: 5 dead as Christian village targeted by multiple suicide attacks

A predominantly Christian village in Lebanon has been hit by a series of devastating suicide attacks.

At least five people have been killed and 15 wounded after four bombers blew themselves up in the village of Qaa, near the border with Syria. It is not clear what was the target of the attack, nor who was responsible.

The first bomb was detonated outside a house at 0420 local time (0120 GMT) and three others quickly followed, exploding their vests as people gathered in the road near the first explosion, according to Lebanon's official National News Agency.

The national news site said the army has cordoned off the area and was searching for accomplices. They said the explosions happened 150m from the Lebanese customs point, on the border with Syria. The road links the Syrian town of Qusair with the fertile Beqaa valley in Lebanon.

"Qaa is the gateway to the rest of Lebanon, and here we stopped a plan for a much bigger explosion," mayor Bashir Matar told the AFP news agency.

"We chased the fourth attacker and shot at him, and he blew himself up."

He told the Voice of Lebanon radio station that four of the dead were civilians and the army has said four soldiers were among the wounded.

The Shia military group Hezbollah, which supports Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, owns the Al-Manar TV station which has blamed ISIS for the attack.