U.N. peacekeepers wounded in Lebanon blast

At least five United Nations peacekeepers were wounded in a roadside bomb blast in Tyre, south of Lebanon on Friday, according to officials and the Lebanese Red Cross.

The bomb exploded in an area near the port city, known as Bourj al-Shamali, impacting a vehicle which was carrying the peacekeepers of U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL).

The French soldiers, along with one passerby, were admitted into a nearby hospital.

This is not the first time UNIFIL forces have been attacked since being deployed in the country’s border in 1978.

The most fatal attack was in June 2007 when a bomb targeted an armored vehicle and killed six Spanish peacekeepers.

The number of soldiers was increased to 12,000 after the Islamist militant group Hezbollah fought with Israel in 2006.

Friday’s attack has been condemned by Lebanese President Michel Sleiman who vowed to find those responsible for the attack.

France’s Foreign Minister Alain Juppe also condemned the attack saying his country would not be intimidated by such “vile acts”.

No one has yet claimed responsibility for the attack.