Head of the Mustaqbal Movement MP Saad Hariri chaired on Wednesday a meeting of various March 14 alliance officials to address the latest local and regional affairs, reported the daily An Nahar on Thursday.

The gatherers discussed the possibility of holding legislative sessions to tackle pending issues knowing that the movement had opposed such meetings in light of the ongoing presidential vacuum.

Interior Minister Nouhad al-Mashnouq traveled to France on Wednesday where he is scheduled to hold talks with head of the Mustaqbal Movement MP Saad Hariri, reported al-Joumhouria newspaper on Thursday.

It said that the meeting will discuss the latest developments linked to the case of soldiers and policemen abducted by Islamists, who overran the northeastern town of Arsal in August.

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.

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.

Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat has rejected the so-called self-security, reiterating his warning from the rise of terrorist threats in Lebanon and inquiring the U.S. about planned airstrikes against jihadists in the region.

“Self-security leads to total chaos,” Jumblat warned in remarks published in As Safir newspaper on Friday amid reports that certain Lebanese factions were arming themselves to confront terrorists.

Head of al-Mustaqbal Movement Saad Hariri appealed on Tuesday to the Lebanese for calm, warning of slipping into sedition.

“I call on all the Lebanese, in particular the residents of (the eastern) Bekaa valley, (the northern portal city of) Tripoli and the town of Akkar, to be calm, have patience and wisdom,” Hariri said in a statement issued by his press office.

Interior Minister Nouhad al-Mashnouq is expected to visit Moscow on September 18 to sign a deal to buy military equipment for the Internal Security Forces, al-Akhbar newspaper reported on Monday.

Lebanon will buy the equipment from a recently announced $1 billion Saudi grant to Lebanon, it said.

Progressive Socialist Party chief Walid Jumblat has held telephone conversations with Christian leaders ahead of his private visit abroad, An Nahar newspaper reported on Wednesday.

Jumblat inquired on Tuesday the unidentified officials on the possibility of reaching a breakthrough in the presidential crisis following his return to Beirut, it said.

Speaker Nabih Berri urged al-Mustaqbal Movement leader ex-PM Saad Hariri to speed up the Saudi military assistance to Lebanon, local dailies reported on Wednesday.

Earlier this month, Hariri announced from Saudi Arabia a grant of $1 billion for the Lebanese army to help its fight against militants.

Progressive Socialist Party Leader Walid Jumblat postponed his upcoming meetings with senior Lebanese officials after he surprisingly left Beirut.

Al-Liwaa newspaper, published on Tuesday, said that the destination of Jumblat is unknown, despite rumors saying that he headed to the French capital Paris for talks with al-Mustaqbal chief Saad Hariri.