Five members of Palestinian militant group killed in Lebanon blast

The PFLP-GC is estimated to have several hundred members operating in Syria, Lebanon and the Gaza Strip

Five members of a Palestinian militant group have been killed and several more wounded by an explosion in Lebanon, close to the border with Syria.

The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command (PFLP-GC) blamed Israel for the blast, saying it carried out an air strike on a site in the eastern town of Qusaya overnight.

But an Israeli source told the BBC that its military was not involved.

Lebanese security sources said it was caused by munitions being moved around.

It comes amid growing tensions between Israel and militants in Lebanon and Syria, who are armed and backed by Iran.

Photos purportedly from the scene of the explosion showed a building in ruins and a badly damaged vehicle.

A statement from the PFLP-GC accused the Israeli military of bombing a site belonging to the group and vowed to retaliate.

"This crime is not isolated from the recent accelerating events on the Lebanese and Syrian fronts, and within the framework of continuous Zionist threats targeting resistance forces inside and outside Palestine," it said.

The Israeli military did not comment on the claim, but official sources denied it.

Lebanon's army also did not comment, but Reuters and AFP news agencies cited Lebanese and Palestinian security sources as saying it was an accidental explosion caused by mines or rockets detonating as they were being moved.

The PFLP-GC is a relatively small militant group formed as an offshoot of the PFLP in 1968. It gained notoriety in the 1970s and 80s for bombing an airliner and carrying out cross-border attacks into Israel.

According to the United States, which has designated the group as a terrorist organisation, the PFLP-GC has several hundred members operating in Syria, Lebanon and the Gaza Strip.

It says they receive logistical and military support from Syria's government, whose forces they have fought alongside during the country's civil war, as well as financial support from Iran.

In early April, the Israeli military carried out air strikes on what it said were installations belonging to the Palestinian militant group Hamas in southern Lebanon. The strikes were a response to a barrage of 34 rockets fired into northern Israel by militants in Lebanon the previous day.