BEIRUT, Lebanon - Lebanese Defense Minister Elias Murr has vowed to change the makeup of security apparatus after twin bus bombings on Tuesday left three people killed, local Naharnet news website reported on Thursday.

"I assure the Lebanese that we will be changing the structure of the security apparatus in the country ... as the current security status of the country can't go on like this," Murr was quoted as saying after meeting with U.S. Ambassador in Lebanon Jeffrey Feltman late on Wednesday.

On Tuesday, twin bombings targeted two commuter minibuses on a highway in northern Metn region, about 24 km northeast of Beirut, killing three people and wounding 23 others, the state-run NNA news agency reported.

"Innocent people are now paying the price," Murr said, adding that "I will personally oversee and look after the restructuring of the security apparatus ... and how it should be employed to serve the citizen."

The minister complained that "when I was interior minister we had 3,000 policemen and citizens would safely return home. Now we have 60,000 army soldiers and a 20,000-strong security force, and people cannot travel or ride vans."

Following the blasts, Lebanese President Emile Lahoud denounced the attacks as "massacre", saying it was a "clear attempt to foil all internal, regional and international efforts to achieve Lebanese national unity."

Moreover, Saad Hariri, Lebanese Parliament's majority leader and son of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, described Tuesday's twin bus bombings as a "cowardly terrorist attack" designed to disrupt ceremonies to commemorate his father's 2005 assassination. -Agencies