File photo: Lebanese army special forces patrol in Ras Baalbek town, eastern Lebanon. (Associated Press)
A Lebanese military official has said that a daylong battle with Syria-based militants near the border has killed eight soldiers.
The official said that the Lebanese troops found the bodies of three missing soldiers today on the outskirts of the northeastern Lebanese village of Ras Baalbek.
Late Friday, an army statement said another five soldiers were killed in the fighting.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations, said the attackers belong to the Islamic State group that controls large parts of Syria.
In August, al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front and Islamic State group fighters conducted a joint raid in the border town of Arsal and captured some two dozen soldiers. Since then, they have killed four of the soldiers.