The Lebanese army said Thursday that it has arrested a Shiite man for falsely reporting he had been attacked by Sunnis who cut off several of his fingers with a sword.

"As a result of media reports concerning a man named Ihab al-Azzi, 23, who claimed that he was the victim of a sectarian attack, the military intelligence interrogated him and it became clear he fabricated the story," the army said.

"In fact, during a fight after an accident with two other bikers on the road to the airport, one of them severed several of his fingers with a switchblade," it said.

Azzi, who will remain in custody until he is brought before a judge, had told media outlets that he was the victim of an attack on Sunday by Sunnis armed with a sword.

He was quoted as saying that armed men asked him about his religion and that one of them carrying a sword wanted to kill him, but he used his hand to protect his head and the blade cut through his fingers.

He said that nearby soldiers did not intervene, despite his cries.

The army said he fabricated the story to avoid paying his hospital bill. The media outlets have apologised for the error.

The story came as Sunni gunmen appeared on the streets of Tariq Jdideh, a stronghold of opposition leader Saad Hariri, following a bombing in Beirut that killed one of his followers, police intelligence chief Wissam al-Hassan.

Hassan's murder has sparked fears of new inter-confessional strife in Lebanon, where Sunnis and Shiites have clashed over the conflict in neighbouring Syria.