Lebanese army says three militants killed near Syria border

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Three unidentified militants were killed in clashes with Lebanese soldiers who launched an operation near the Syrian border early on Tuesday to retake control of a hilltop, the Lebanese army said. The area around Al-Makheirma hill outside Ras Baalbek village has seen regular incursions from Islamist militants fighting in Syria's war. Four other militants were wounded in the clashes, the army said in a statement. It did not specify which groups the combatants belonged to but said the operation aimed to "eliminate terrorists" to prevent them targeting soldiers and civilians in Lebanon. Syria-based groups such as al Qaeda's Nusra Front and Islamic State have attacked Lebanon and taken soldiers captive since last summer in some of the worst spillover from the four-year civil war. Tuesday's operation destroyed a large number of weapons used by the militants, the army said. (Reporting by Sylvia Westall; Editing by Raissa Kasolowsky)