Six United Nations peacekeepers were killed Sunday and two others wounded in a car bombing targeting UN troops in southern Lebanon, Lebanese police sources said.

A police source said that vehicle involved in the attack was "most
likely" driven by a suicide bomber.

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It was the first deadly attack on the 13,000-strong United Nations force since last year's Israel-Hezbollah war and drew swift condemnation from the United States, France as well as Lebanese guerilla group Hezbollah.

Spanish Defense Minister Jose Antonio Alonso said the five included three
Colombians and three Spanish peacekeepers. The two injured troops were also from Spain, he told reporters in Madrid.

Security sources in Lebanon reported that UN troops hit a roadside bomb while on patrol. The explosion was said to have completely burned an armored troop carrier and to have severely damaged another vehicle, near the southeastern town of Khiyam.

The bomb had exploded between the towns of Marjayoun and Khiam, about six kilometers north of the Israeli border town of Metulla. Security sources said the bomb had been operated by remote control.

A police source said a suicide car bomber was "most likely" to blame for the deadly explosion. The source said a mangled car was found at the scene with human remains inside.

There was no immediate claim for the attack.

The UN Interim Force in Lebanon, known as UNIFIL, confirmed the explosion but only said there were causalities without giving a specific number or confirming if its peacekeepers were killed. UNIFIL said it suspected that the blast was caused by an explosive device, according to a statement.

Sunday's deadly explosion was the first time that UNIFIL has come under attack since it was reinforced last summer after the war between Hezbollah guerrillas and Israeli forces in Lebanon. The 12,000-member UN force from 28 countries along with 15,000 Lebanese troops patrols a zone along Lebanese-Israeli border.

In a statement on its television station al-Manar, Hezbollah denounced the attack, calling it a suspicious act. The militant has had good relations with UNIFIL since the troops were first deployed in Lebanon in 1978.

"The attack hurts the people of the south and of Lebanon," al-Manar television said.

Lebanese President Emile Lahoud also strongly denounced the incident that he said aims at destabilizing Lebanon.

There have been warnings that the peacekeepers could come under terror attacks, particularly from al-Qaida and its sympathizers. Media reports earlier this month said interrogations by Lebanese authorities with captured militants revealed plots to attack the force.

Those warnings became more serious after Fatah al-Islam, al-Qaida-inspired militant group, began fighting Lebanese troops in a northern Lebanon Palestinian refugee camp five weeks ago. The militants have threatened to take their battle outside northern Lebanon and other militant groups have issued Internet statements supporting Fatah al-Islam.

In Madrid, Spain's Defence Ministry confirmed at least four Spanish
peacekeepers were killed and three injured. UNIFIL medical teams were working in the area, and they had no additional information, a ministry spokesman said.

The explosion also sparked a fire at the site, and fire engines rushed to the area to put out the blaze.

Witnesses reported hearing an explosion and seeing fire and then hearing a second blast in the same area. The second blast was believed to be either ammunition or the vehicle's fuel tank, which blew up.