Lebanon says it was struck by shelling from Syria, after three Syrians were killed in Lebanon, escalating tensions between Beirut and Syria’s new Islamist-led government.

Syria’s army attacked Lebanon after it said three soldiers were kidnapped, brought to Lebanon and killed by Hezbollah militants. Hezbollah denied involvement.

Meanwhile, senior Hezbollah legislator Hussein Haj Hassan in an interview with Lebanon’s Al Jadeed television accused fighters from the Syrian side of crossing into Lebanese ter

It was the most serious cross-border fighting since the ouster of former Syrian President Bashar Assad in December.

According to Syria’s state media, the Syrian army responded by shelling Hezbollah positions near the border. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that at least five additional Syrian soldiers were killed during the clashes.