BEIRUT (Reuters) - Gunmen killed a soldier and wounded another in northern Lebanon early on Monday when they opened fire on a military installation, the army said.

Security sources initially reported that two soldiers were killed.

The attack took place before dawn in an area about 20 km (13 miles) east of the city of Tripoli, the sources and an army statement posted by the state-run National News Agency said.

Areas of northern Lebanon have seen a number of security incidents in recent years, especially near the Syrian border, often in a spillover from the civil war next door.

The army regularly fires on jihadist militants in the border area around the town of Arsal, about 60 km southeast of Tripoli.