Lebanese civil defence personnel and soldiers gather around a damaged UN French peacekeeper armoured personnel carrier in the port-city of Sidon in south Lebanon July 26, 2011. [Photo/Agencies]

BEIRUT - An explosion targeted a convoy of the United Nations Interim Forces in Lebanon (UNIFIL) in Lebanon's southern coastal city of Sidon on Tuesday, wounding at least three peacekeepers, a security source told Xinhua.

A roadside bomb hit a vehicle belonging to a French patrol, injuring at least three French peacekeepers, the source said, adding the blast occurred at one of the entrances to Sidon.

Members of the French contingent of the UNIFIL rushed to the site along with Lebanese soldiers, who cordoned off the area and began gathering evidence.

The local LBC television reported that one of the injured sustained serious wound in the attack.

No group has claimed responsibility for the explosion so far.

The multi-national UNIFIL faces tight security situation as it is sporadically attacked by residents in southern Lebanon.

In May six Italian peacekeepers were injured in an explosion targeting their vehicle near Sidon. Investigations are still ongoing to reveal those behind the incident.

In June 2007, a bomb targeted an armored personnel carrier near the Israeli border, killing six Spanish peacekeepers.

Created in 1978 to monitor the partial withdrawal of Israeli troops from southern Lebanon, the UNIFIL beefed up to almost 13, 000 troops and its mandate expanded, in the wake of Lebanon's 2006 summer war with Israel. The UNIFIL forces are currently deployed in south of Lebanon to monitor the cessation of hostile acts between Lebanon and Israel.