An army checkpoint was attacked by a hand grenade on Friday in Tripoli, only hours after a roadside bomb targeted an army vehicle and killed two troops in the Bekaa border town of Arsal.

"An unknown assailant riding a motorbike hurled a hand grenade towards an army checkpoint in the al-Omari area in Tripoli's Syria Street,” state-run National News Agency reported.

U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon David Hale hailed on Friday the unity and cooperation between Lebanese security agencies, saying it would thwart any attempt to cause division.

“The Internal Security Forces, along with the Army, and General Security, have demonstrated bravery and courage in their mission to protect Lebanon’s security and stability,” Hale said during a ceremony to deliver 38 vehicles to the ISF at the ISF Mobile Barracks in Dbayeh.

Two soldiers were killed and three others wounded on Friday after their vehicle was targeted by a roadside bomb in the northeastern border town of Arsal, announced the military in a statement.

The army soon cordoned off the area while a military expert arrived at the scene.

The army has arrested three Syrians, one of whom admitted to witnessing the beheading of a Lebanese soldier taken captive by jihadists in the northeastern border town of Arsal.

The three Syrians, who had infiltrated Lebanon, were arrested in the Baalbek town of Iaat three days ago.

As Islamic State fighters have advanced in neighboring Syria and after the brutal beheading of two of its soldiers, Lebanon has reacted with fear but also dark humor mocking the jihadists.

After a deadly battle between Lebanese troops and jihadists flowing from Syria into the town of Arsal in August, many Lebanese started greeting each other with a characteristic mixture of concern and jest. 

Kataeb Party leader Amin Gemayel stressed on Friday that the election of a new head of state is a priority that should precede legislation, acknowledging difficulties in resolving the political impasse.

He stressed in comments published in the pan-Arab daily Asharq al-Awsat that the current parliament should only convene to elect a new president, clarifying that his party rejects to meet to discuss draft-laws in the absence of a president.

The Lebanese government is expected to meet to discuss the fate of the growing number of Syrian refugees after cabinet members and the United Nations refused to establish camps to house them on the border with Syria.

Several ministers rejected the idea during a session held under Prime Minister Tammam Salam on Thursday over fears that the shantytowns would turn into training camps for jihadists.

Speaker Nabih Berri stressed on Friday that he will accept the extension of the parliament's term if a new head of state was elected, ruling out that he would challenge the decision to prolong the legislature's tenure.

“I would accept the extension of the parliament's term only if a serious and real agreement to elect a consensual president preceded it,” Berri said in comments published in local newspapers.

Qatar's envoy, who is tasked with mediating the release of Lebanese soldiers and policemen taken captive by jihadists from a border town, is expected to arrive in Beirut on Friday amid hopes by their families that the hostages will escape beheading.

The envoy, a Syrian, is scheduled to meet with members from the Muslim Scholars Committee and officials close to al-Qaida-linked al-Nusra Front away from media spotlight.

The cabinet approved Thursday a number of stalled decrees after resolving a dispute between Telecom Minister Butros Harb and Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil.

Decrees during this period require the signatures of all ministers since the government is acting in the absence of a president and has assumed presidential powers.