3 explosives-rigged vehicles found

Troops on Thursday discovered three vehicles rigged with explosives during a raid on a hideout in eastern Lebanon, security officials said.

The two cars and a van were found near the town of Bar Elias in eastern Lebanon's Bekaa Valley, a day after security forces captured three foreign militants in a nearby area, the officials said on customary condition of anonymity.

It was not immediately known if the three belonged to al-Qaida-inspired Fatah Islam, which has been fighting the Lebanese army since May 20 from inside a Palestinian refugee camp near the northern city of Tripoli.

Four explosions in Beirut and nearby areas have killed at least one person and wounded 40 others in recent weeks.