Soldiers commit double suicide in Lebanon

Two Lebanese soldiers took their lives in a double suicide in the same military barracks near the northern coastal town of Batroun on Saturday, an army spokesman said.

"Two soldiers committed suicide separately in their barracks at dawn this morning, around 15 minutes apart," he told AFP, on condition of anonymity.

The spokesman identified the soldiers as Tanios Yammine and Shaheen Bashir, both of whom hail from northern Lebanon, but would give no further details or speculate on a motive.

Lebanon's army, which is no longer a conscript force, has launched an investigation into the rare suicides but ruled out homicide as a cause of either death.

Two soldiers committed suicide separately in their barracks at dawn this morning, around 15 minutes apart

Army spokesman