BURJ AL-SHEMALI, Lebanon: France hinted Friday at a possible change in its position within UNIFIL, just hours after a roadside bomb struck a French peacekeeping patrol near the southern city of Tyre, wounding five peacekeepers and a Lebanese civilian.

“Once we have the results and recommendations” of the strategic review of UNIFIL, which is ongoing, “probably early next year, we will draw the necessary conclusions ... with regards to the French system, its scope, its organization, its role” within the force, said Bernard Valero, spokesperson for the French Foreign Ministry, during a news briefing at the Foreign Ministry.

Asked whether there was a potential connection between the attack and France’s policy toward unrest in Syria, Valero said: “No, we have not made that link yet.”

At around 9:30 a.m., a roadside bomb ripped through a French UNIFIL patrol in Burj al-Shemali, near Tyre, wounding five peacekeepers and one Lebanese civilian.

“On Dec. 9, a UNIFIL vehicle traveling on a road at the southern outskirts of the city of Tyre was targeted by an explosion,” said UNIFIL force commander Major General Alberto Asarta Cuevas in a statement.

“We condemn this attack in the strongest terms ... in the aftermath of this attack, UNIFIL’s determination and commitment to the mandate under U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701 is even stronger,” he added.

For his part, French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said in a statement that France would not be intimidated by such an attack.

“I condemn in the strongest terms the cowardly attack that was carried out against UNIFIL this morning, wounding five French peacekeepers and a civilian.” France is “determined to continue its involvement with UNIFIL [and] will not be intimidated by such vile acts,” Juppe said.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s spokesman Martin Nesirky said in New York that Ban “strongly condemns” the attack, describing it as “deeply disturbing.”

“The secretary-general expects that the perpetrators will be swiftly identified and brought to justice,” he said.

Security sources said a Lebanese man, traveling along the street on his motorcycle, was also wounded in the attack, which targeted a four-wheel drive vehicle belonging to the French UNIFIL contingent.

Security sources said the bomb had been placed under a garbage container on the side of a road leading to the Nabbaha neighborhood.

UNIFIL spokesperson Andrea Tenenti said a U.N. forensic team and investigators were currently working with their counterparts in the Lebanese Army to determine the circumstances of the incident, for which no one has yet claimed responsibility.

The wounded French peacekeepers were taken to Hammoud Hospital in Sidon where Defense Minister Fayez Ghosn visited them later Friday. One of the French peacekeepers was said to be in critical condition. The Lebanese man was identified as 19-year-old Ali Mohammad Safi.

The attack drew swift condemnation from President Michel Sleiman, Speaker Nabih Berri and Prime Minister Najib Mikati, as well as from Hezbollah.

Sleiman said the attack had been intended to force UNIFIL to withdraw from Lebanon and obstruct its work as a peacekeeping force in the south.

“France, which has made big sacrifices for the sake of Lebanon, will not succumb to terrorist operations,” Sleiman said during a news conference in Armenia, where he was on an official visit. For his part, Berri said the attack was aimed at “transforming Lebanon, and particularly the south, into an area of concern and instability,” and said such acts ultimately served Israel’s interests. “We call on the army and security institutions to increase awareness and intensify measures aimed at uncovering those responsible for these organized terrorist crimes.”

Mikati condemned the attacks which he said targeted the security of Lebanese, especially southerners, during a security meeting he chaired at the Grand Serail.

“Such attacks will not impact the work of UNIFIL in the south especially the French contingent, nor will it affect volunteer countries’ commitment to implementing Resolution 1701,” he was quoted as saying.

Later in the day, the Cabinet, which held a session under Mikati at the Grand Serail, “strongly condemned” the explosion and asked relevant judicial and security authorities to work swiftly to reveal the details of the attack and determine responsibility.

Hezbollah, which holds strong sway in the south, blasted the attack, saying that it was aimed “at Lebanon’s security and the stability of the south specifically.” The party called on Lebanese security services to work diligently to put an end to such attacks.

Former Prime Minister Fouad Siniora and head of the Future parliamentary bloc, urged “the Lebanese and people of south Lebanon to raise their voices, oppose and condemn such a criminal act.”

This is the third roadside bomb targeting a UNIFIL convoy this year. Six Italian peacekeepers were wounded in May and five French soldiers were wounded in a blast in July. Both occurred in Sidon, and no group has claimed responsibility for either attack.

Italy said after the May attack that it would reduce its contingent, leaving France with the largest contingent in the peacekeeping force.

French Ambassador to Lebanon Denis Pietton voiced hope that the perpetrators would be brought to justice, while emphasizing France’s commitment to UNIFIL. “What we hope for is that those behind this attack are found and brought to justice,” he told a news conference at the French Embassy. – With Reuters, additional reporting by Dana Khraiche