A terrorist Islamic group that fought the Lebanese army last year claimed responsibility Monday for a recent explosion that killed one soldier north of the country, the state-run news agency said. Al-Qaida-inspired Fatah Islam group said it was behind Saturday's explosion in the northern town of Abdeh that killed one soldier. Fatah Islam said some of its members planted a bomb in the "Lebanese army intelligence den" and detonated it by remote control.
State-run National News Agency said it received the Fatah Islam statement by fax. The agency did not say whether it verified the authenticity of the statement. On Saturday, military officials did not identify the cause of the blast that killed the soldier. A military statement identified the victim as Osama Ahmed Hassan, 24.