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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| Lebanese army prevents more rockets being fired on Israel |
| 2007-06-19 |
| The Lebanese army discovered a rocket that was set to be launched Sunday on Israel and prevented it from being fired, shortly after three were launched and two landed in the Jewish state, Lebanon's military said in a statement. The army blamed the attack on unknown elements, the statement said. Lebanon's Hezbollah militant group denied firing at Israel on Sunday. Hezbollah denies being involved in any operation to launch missiles today against occupied Palestine, said a flash script on Al-Manar television. A Lebanese security official told The Associated Press that two 107 millimeter rockets were launched using timers from an area between the villages of Adaisseh and Kfar Kila, a few kilometers from Israel's northern border. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media. The army statement said that three rockets were fired toward Israel. Troops were sent to search the suspected launching area, where a fourth rocket equipped with a timer was found. The army was investigating and a search was underway for the attackers. U.N. peacekeepers also dispatched a patrol to the area, the army said. It was the first time rockets were fired from Lebanese territory at the Jewish state since last summer's war between Israel and Hezbollah guerrillas, when almost 4,000 rockets were fired at Israel and the Israeli army retaliated with artillery and missile fire on Lebanon. Israel's Channel 2 TV said two rockets struck the town of Kiryat Shemona on Sunday, hitting a factory and a car but causing no injuries. An Israeli official said Israel would «not succumb to this provocation» by retaliating. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue. Yasmina Bouziane, deputy spokeswoman for the U.N. peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon said the U.N. mission was trying «to ascertain the facts. There have been instances in the past - before last year's war - when rockets were mysteriously fired on Israel. These were blamed by Lebanese officials on radical Syrian-backed Palestinian factions, and in one instance claimed by al-Qaida. Hezbollah usually claims responsibility for its attacks. While the zone along the border in southern Lebanon is controlled by some 12,000 U.N. peacekeepers and more than 15,000 Lebanese soldiers, Hezbollah has repeatedly said it maintains presence in the border zone. The prime suspect in previous attacks - the Syrian-based Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command - on Sunday denied its men had fired any missiles. The group has bases on the Lebanese-Syrian border and a base at Naameh just south of Beirut. The attack comes amid turmoil in the Palestinian territories between President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah and the Islamic militant Hamas, and as the Lebanese army battles the radical Fatah Islam militant offshoot in a north Lebanon refugee camp. Leaders of Fatah Islam were unavailable for comment Sunday, their cell phones being out of service. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #3 Probably the rocket has malfunctioned. |
| Posted by: gromgoru 2007-06-19 11:38 |
| #2 I'll take door #2. |
| Posted by: ed 2007-06-19 09:27 |
| #1 so does this mean a huge improvement in the efficacy of the Leb Army, or is it able to get away with this only cause Hezb didnt fire the rockets? |
| Posted by: Liberalhawk 2007-06-19 09:20 |