The Lebanese army targeted militant posts and movements on the outskirts of Ras Baalbek in the eastern Bekaa, media reports said on Tuesday.

The army heavily shelled the outskirts of the area where gunmen are entrenched.

Labor Minister Sejaan Qazzi has called on the international coalition fighting the Islamic State terrorist group to defend Lebanon if it was invaded by terrorists.

Qazzi told An Nahar daily published on Tuesday that the Lebanese authorities should officially ask the coalition to make a pledge on protecting Lebanon against terrorist organizations.

France and the United States are reportedly competing to arm the Lebanese military and benefit from the Saudi grants as it desperately needs weapons to confront the increasing threats by militants, in particular along Lebanon's eastern border.

A source following up the army deals under two Saudi financial grants told al-Akhbar newspaper published on Tuesday that the U.S. arms are very different from the French arms that ODAS company is in charge of delivering to Lebanon.

Hizbullah and al-Mustaqbal movement on Monday stressed their “firm support” for the Lebanese army in its fight against terrorist groups, following deadly weekend clashes against jihadist militants in Ras Baalbek's outskirts.

“The conferees underlined their firm stance on supporting the army and security forces through all means in their efforts to confront terrorism and protect Lebanon,” said a statement issued by the two parties after their fourth dialogue session in Ain al-Tineh.

An Internal Security Forces intelligence officer was killed at dawn Monday after gunmen opened fire at him in the northern district of Zgharta, the ISF and the state-run National News Agency said, while an explosive device was seized later in the day in the region.

NNA said Chief Warrant Officer Ghassan Ajaj, 47, died after an armed man shot him near his house in the town of Meryata.

Two people were killed Monday in a tragic traffic accident on the road of the Bekaa town of Qab Elias.

The Traffic Management Center posted on its Twitter account a picture showing a collision between a truck, a tanker and a car at the Jdita intersection on the Qab Elias road.

The Kataeb Party called Monday for controlling the border and declaring the eastern border region a "military zone" as it urged the Lebanese parties to speed up the ongoing dialogues in order to elect a president.

In a statement issued after the weekly meeting of its political bureau, Kataeb expressed its “confidence in the Lebanese Army and its role in defending its citizens and land, as well as its pride in the unity among Lebanese every time the country is facing a dangerous test.”

Finance Minister Ali Hassan Khalil referred to the General Prosecution on Monday a file on the introduction of spoiled frozen shrimp to the Lebanese market.

The General Prosecution will tackle how the products entered the market and the squandering of public funds through dodging customs fees.

The army command said on Monday that the military has arrested a Syrian in Beirut's southern suburbs on suspicion of belonging to a terrorist organization.

Mohammed Ibrahim Youssef was apprehended in Haret Hreik at dawn Monday, said the army in a communique.

Subjected to beatings and rape, and often driven to suicide, migrant domestic workers in Lebanon are trying to form a labor union in what would be a first for the Arab world.

"We want to be treated like human beings, like real workers," said Leticia, a Filipina who was assaulted and raped by her employer several years ago.