At least 20 Syrians were injured in a stabbing attack on Wednesday when their vehicle was targeted by a group of unknown attackers in eastern Beirut, a police source told AFP.

"Three cars with tinted windows intercepted a minibus carrying 25 Syrians in the Jisr al-Wati neighbourhood. Eight men attacked the passengers with knives, injuring 20 of them," the source said.

Police surrounded the site of the incident, and an AFP photographer at the scene saw blood on the seats of the mini-bus and on discarded t-shirts inside the vehicle and on the street.

The National News Agency said the group was headed to a studio to record Syrian folklore music.

The incident comes as the conflict in neighbouring Syria raises tensions in Lebanon, with the violence regularly spilling over the border.

The Syrian conflict has also raised sectarian tensions in Lebanon, particularly between Shiite residents who back the regime of President Bashar al-Assad and Sunni Lebanese who support the Sunni-led uprising.