Beirut - Lebanese army sappers on Thursday defused two explosive charges planted on the main highway leading from northern Lebanon to Syria.

The two bombs were concealed in powder milk cans and linked with a thin wire that would allow their simultaneous explosion once fitted with a fuse, a Lebanese security source said.

The source said the bombs were planted along the Abdeh-Homs international highway that leads to neighbouring Syria.

Each of the bombs, according to the source, was made up of almost two kilos of heavy explosives that are similar to a bomb that went off at a Lebanese military intelligence outpost in Abdeh almost two weeks ago.

Army patrols sealed off the area and launched a search for more bombs.

The development came almost one day after a Lebanese soldier was wounded in a clash with gunmen at the entrance to the Palestinian refugee camp of Ain al-Hilweh in south Lebanon. (dpa)