Lebanese army sappers together with the U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon on Thursday defused eight Katyusha rockets set to be launched at Israel.
A Lebanese army communiqué said army troops found the Katyushas of various calibers in an area north of Naqoura. The missiles were positioned and set to be fired at Israel, it added. It said Lebanese troops launched a wide-scale search in and around Naqoura to make sure the area was free from further rockets.
The communiqué said the army together with UNIFIL planned to launch a similar military operation in search for the perpetrators.
UNIFIL spokesperson Yasmina Bouziane said late Thursday that the peacekeeping force worked together with the Lebanese army to defuse the Katyushas. She said UNIFIL commander Gen. Claudio Graziano was also in contact with both the Lebanese army and Israel regarding this issue.
A reliable source earlier told Naharnet that the 107-mm projectiles were fitted with timing devices and defused "a short while before the time set for their launching."
The Voice of Lebanon radio station said the rockets were set to be fired between 10:00 and 10:30 pm on Thursday.
The reliable source said the Katyushas were "discovered" in the area between the border towns of Naqoura and Teir Harfa. The region, which is within the area of operations of UNIFIL, abuts Israel and overlooks most of the Central and Western Galilee.
It could not be immediately determined whether the projectiles were traditional World War II Katyushas that have a range of 10-12 kilometers or a double-load Iranian-modified version better known by the code of RAAD that has a double range. Hizbullah used Iranian-modified RAAD Katyushas, each with a pay load of 100 kilograms of explosives, in its 2006 war with Israel, hitting as deep as the coastal town of Haifa.
I look forward to the day, Iran is outed as THE only problem in the ME. And the world recognizes this fact. Yeah, call me crazy.
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