Justice Minister Ashraf Rifi stressed Sunday that the way out from the current confrontation in Arsal should be through a “political solution,” as Tripoli MP Mohammed Kabbara of the Mustaqbal bloc described the incidents in the Bekaa border town as a “Syrian-Iranian conspiracy.”

“The solution in Arsal is political and we must protect our northern Bekaa from the volcano's lava and we must preserve coexistence,” Rifi said in remarks to MTV.

Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat stressed on Sunday that Lebanon is facing the danger of terrorism given the clashes between the army and the al-Nusra Front gunmen in the eastern region of Arsal near the border with Syria.

He said during a tour of the Deir Qoubel and Choueifat regions: "Hizbullah's fighting in Syria did not bring about the threat of terrorism to Lebanon."

The United States strongly condemned on Sunday the al-Nusra Front’s attack on the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) in the eastern region of Arsal, where at least seven soldiers were killed and some Internal Security Forces (ISF) members were briefly held hostage, said the U.S. Department of State in a statement.

“We extend our deepest sympathy and condolences to the victims’ families and wish a full recovery to those who were wounded,” it added.

A number of Internal Security Forces were forced to defect by al-Nusra Front members on Sunday after being taken captive by the group, said LBCI television.

Twenty security forces members were shown announcing their defection “from the army and Hizbullah” in a video uploaded to Youtube.

Three members of the same Syrian family were killed on Sunday in a traffic accident at the Masnaa border-crossing, reported LBCI television.

It said that the accident took place between a Hyundai vehicle and a passenger van that had lost control of its brakes.

Clashes erupted overnight on Saturday between the army and masked gunmen in the northern city of Tripoli, reported the National News Agency on Sunday.

It said that fierce fighting broke out when gunmen opened fire at army positions on Syria Street, the Starco, Brad al-Bisar, al-Ghoraba, Talaat al-Omari, and al-Qobbeh areas.

Abou Ahmed Jomaa, the men who fueled Saturday's clashes in the Bekaa town of Arsal, hails form the Syrian border town of Qusayr and has confessed upon his arrest to belonging to the al-Qaida-inspired al-Nusra Front.

Jomaa was detained at an army checkpoint on Saturday, and he was referred to relevant authorities for further investigation.

The Syrian gunmen attacks on army troops in eastern Lebanon on Saturday drew strong condemnation from several local leaders who announced full solidarity with the military institution.

Former President Michel Suleiman, ex-Prime Minister Saad Hariri, Interior Minister Nouhad al-Mashnouq and Premier Tammam Salam contacted army chief General Jean Qahwaji, voicing full support for troops' efforts in "eradicating terrorism."

Tension soared Saturday afternoon in the eastern border town of Arsal when masked Syrian gunmen infiltrated Lebanon after news circulated about the arrest of al-Nusra Front official, the state-run National News Agency reported.

The infiltrators surrounded army checkpoints and targeted military posts with gunfire, while other stormed an Internal Security Forces post in the Bekaa region.

Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah held talks on Saturday with Marada Movement leader MP Suleiman Franjieh, and both men discussed the situation in the country and the region.

Nasrallah and Franjieh gave special attention to the ongoing war on the Gaza Strip and underscored the “exodus of Christians and the killing of Muslims" in the Iraq's Mosul, a statement published on Marada's official website revealed.