Syria ? The Syrian leader of an Islamic militant group blew himself up Tuesday after trying to cross into Lebanon and engaging in a gunbattle with Syrian border forces. Two border guards were wounded.

The incident comes at a time of increased tension in Lebanon as the struggle intensifies between the anti-Syria government and factions led by Hezbollah, Syria’s ally in Lebanon.

The Syrian Interior Ministry said in a statement the clash began when Omar Abdullah, 28, the leader of the Islamic militant group Tawhid and Jihad, was challenged when he tried to cross into Lebanon with fake documents.

Tawhid and Jihad, Arabic for Monotheism and Holy War, was the name originally used by al-Qaida in Iraq. Groups linked to or sympathetic to al-Qaida have used the name Tawhid and Jihad, but such a group had not been known to be operating in Syria.

After a gunbattle with security agents near the border village of Kfeir Yabous, a witness said, Abdullah raised one hand in a gesture of surrender, but used the other to detonate an explosives belt.