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Ammon News - SIDON (BBC) - At least six Lebanese soldiers have been killed in clashes with Sunni militants in the port city of Sidon.

The army said fighting broke out after supporters of a radical Sunni cleric opened fire on a checkpoint.

It said three officers were among the dead and several other soldiers were wounded.

Sectarian tensions in Lebanon have risen since the country's Shia movement Hezbollah backed Syria's government in the civil war there.

Witnesses said machine gun and rocket fire shook Sidon, 40km (28 miles) south of Beirut, causing panic among residents.

The army blamed the violence on supporters of hard-line Sunni cleric Sheikh Ahmad al-Assir.

Correspondents say Sidon has been on edge since violence erupted last week between Sunni and Shia fighters who have taken different sides in the Syrian conflict.

Lebanese officials have since been trying to quell the unrest.

However, fresh clashes broke out on Sunday after police arrested a follower of Sheikh Ahmad al-Assir at a checkpoint, sources told Reuters.

Other supporters of the cleric then attacked security forces in retaliation and called on their supporters to take to the streets nationwide, the sources said.

Unconfirmed reports said as many as 10 soldiers were killed and up to 40 others wounded as rocket-propelled grenades were fired at the checkpoint.

"The army was attacked in cold blood in an attempt to light the fuse in Sidon," a military statement said.

Smoke could be seen billowing over parts of the city and shells were reported to have hit central Sidon late in the evening.

People in the worst affected areas - Abra and Hilaliya - called on the authorities to move them to safer places.

Last month, Lebanon's parliament voted to postpone elections due in June because of security concerns over the conflict in Syria.