Three people, including a Lebanese soldier, were killed and another one injured on Sunday in a gunfight between residents of rival neighborhoods in Lebanon's northern port city of Tripoli.

The fighting erupted at 2:00 a.m. local time (2300 GMT, Saturday), after an Inerga-type rocket fell in al-Qobbeh area, a largely Sunni district hostile to the Syrian leadership, killing a man identified as Issa Ali, the National News Agency (NNA) reported.

The rocket attack was followed by a gun battle between the mainly Sunni residents of Qobbeh and Bab al-Tabbaneh, and the Alawites of Jabal Mohsen, who support Syrian President Bashar Assad.

The fighting with Inerga rockets and Rocket Propelled Grenades lasted till 7:00 a.m. local time (0400 GMT), the NNA said, adding that sporadic bursts of rockets and machine guns were heard afterwards.

Lebanese soldier Faisal Hussein Abdullah was killed by sniper fire at the Mallouleh roundabout of Tripoli as he was heading to his work place, NNA said.

Eighteen-year-old Mahmoud al-Duhaibi's body was also found by the roadside at the northern entrance of the city, the report said, adding the gun battle left Hamadeh al-Hassan injured in the area of al-Zahrieh.