The explosion happened near a bus pick-up point in a busy commercial area [Reuters]

The blast hit a military bus in central Nour Square early on Wednesday, officials said.

The majority of the dead were reported to be Lebanese soldiers.

The explosion happened near a bus pick-up point in the busy commercial district as people head to work.

Television footage showed a small bus heavily damaged by shrapnel from the blast. Shattered glass could be seen lying in the streets.

Tripoli was the scene of bloody sectarian fighting last month as clashes between members of the rival Sunni Muslim and Alawite communities in the neighbourhoods of Bab al-Tibbaneh and Jabal Mohsen killed 23 people.

'Targeted attack'

Misbah Ahdab, a member of parliament who spent his entire life in Tripoli, said that the attackers are trying to undermine the work of the army, in order to uindermine the state of Lebanon.

"What is happening in Tripoli now is the confrontation line between two views - on one hand those who are trying to find a solution to get out of the crisis - and on the other hand, those who are trying to maintain Tripoli in chaos," he said.

"While this attack happening in Tripoli, it was definately targeting the whole country."

Bab al-Tebbaneh is a stronghold of the parliamentary majority while the inhabitants of Jabal Mohsen mainly support the Hezbollah-led opposition.

Last year the port city was the scene of fierce fighting between Lebanese security forces and members of the Fatah al-Islam group in the nearby Nahr al-Bared Palestinian refugee camp. The army lost 170 soldiers in the fighting.

The explosion comes the day after a power-sharing cabinet led by Fouad Siniora, the prime minister, won a vote of confidence in parliament.

It also coincides with the visit of Michel Sleiman, Lebanon's president, to neighbouring Syria for talks on establishing diplomatic ties.

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