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Israel, Lebanon clash on border
08/02/2007 07:23 - (SA)
Beirut - Lebanese troops deployed along the border with Israel opened fire late on Wednesday on an Israeli army bulldozer that had crossed the frontier, drawing Israeli retaliatory fire, Lebanese military officials said.
The officials said Lebanese troops opened up with machine gun fire on the bulldozer after the vehicle had crossed the so-called Blue Line - the UN-demarcated boundary - and entered about 20 metres into Lebanon. Israeli forces returned fire, the officials said.
It was the first time that shooting erupted across the border since shortly after a ceasefire on August 14 ended a 34-day summer war between Israeli forces and the Lebanese Hezbollah militants.
The incident occurred near the Lebanese village of Maroun el-Rass, which was the scene of heavy fighting in the war, in the central sector of the border.
The Lebanese military officials, speaking on condition of anonymity pending the release of a formal statement from the army command, said the Lebanese army fired volleys of .5 calibre machine guns toward the bulldozer.
Israeli forces across the border returned fire, using five anti-tank grenades that targeted an army armoured vehicle and a transport jeep, the Lebanese officials said. Lebanese troops did not suffer any casualties.
In Jerusalem, the Israeli army said shooting erupted on the Israel-Lebanon border during an Israeli operation to search for bombs planted by Hezbollah fighters.
The army said troops operating in Israeli territory along the frontier came under fire, and that the source of the shooting was apparently Lebanese troops nearby. When the attackers refused to cease fire, the Israeli troops opened fire at them, the army said.
- AP
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