Army receives bomb disposal equipment from France

A French military plane carrying bomb disposal equipment donated to the Lebanese Army landed Sunday at the Rafik Hariri International Airport, the army said on Tuesday.

“The donation was received in the presence of officers from the Lebanese and French armies,” the Lebanese Army said in a statement.

The announcement comes hours after a Lebanese soldier was killed and three others were wounded while dismantling mines in a Hezbollah tunnel in south Lebanon.

"While a specialized army unit was carrying out an engineering survey of a site" in south Lebanon's Tyre district, "a suspicious object exploded, killing a member of the unit and moderately injuring three others," an army statement said.

A statement from President Joseph Aoun's office said the soldiers had been "dismantling mines and explosive materials in a tunnel" in the area.