Syria on Wednesday defended its deployment of extra troops on the border with Lebanon as a measure to combat smuggling and infiltration by saboteurs, dismissing concerns raised in Beirut and Washington.

"These measures aim to control the border, only from Syrian territory, and we have no other intentions," an official told Agence France Presse, declining to be named.

"Syria has in effect boosted its security measures with a few hundred (extra) soldiers, and the spy satellites know the truth," the official said.

"Our aim is to control the border, combat smuggling and stop saboteurs from crossing these borders," the official said, adding that the issue had been raised during Lebanese President Michel Suleiman's visit to Damascus in August.

The U.S. State Department said on Monday that Washington was concerned about Syrian troop movements near the Lebanese border and warned Damascus against interference in Lebanon.

On September 27, a car bomb exploded near a Shiite shrine in southern Damascus killing 17 people.

The next day, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad was quoted as saying northern Lebanon had become "a base for extremists" and warned that such developments "posed a threat" to his country.

The anti-Syrian parliamentary majority in Lebanon said Assad's words appeared to be setting the stage for a return of Syrian forces to Lebanon.

A September 29 car bombing in the northern Lebanese port city of Tripoli, the scene of frequent sectarian clashes, killed four soldiers and three civilians.(AFP)