Fatah al-Islam statement claims Lebanon bomb

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Militant Islamist group Fatah al-Islam claimed responsibility for a bomb that killed a soldier in north Lebanon last week, according to a statement issued in the group's name on Monday.

The authenticity of the statement, which Reuters received by fax, could not be verified.

Security sources confirmed that the blast, which struck a guard post at the Abdeh military base on Saturday, had been caused by a bomb.

The Fatah al-Islam statement said the device had been detonated remotely. "With God's help ... our mujahideen succeeded in planting a bomb", the statement said.

The Lebanese army fought Fatah al-Islam for 15 weeks last year in battles that killed more than 400 people, more than half of them fighters from the group which drew members from across the Arab world.