BEIRUT, Lebanon - The shaky cease-fire between Israel and Hezbollah was
tested Wednesday as the Israeli army fired artillery into a disputed border
region in response to what it said was an attack from inside Lebanon. An Israeli
soldier was killed in a separate incident, the army said.
Lebanese security and military officials said there had been no fire by
either Hezbollah or the Lebanese army in the region. The officials spoke on
condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak with reporters.
A Lebanese girl weeps as she stands among the
rubble of the destroyed apartment building following Israeli bombardments
during the 34-day long Hezbollah-Israel war, in the village of Siddiqine,
southern Lebanon, Tuesday, Aug. 22, 2006. [AP] |
Meanwhile, three Lebanese soldiers were killed Wednesday while they
dismantled an unexploded missile in southern Lebanon, Lebanese security
officials said.
The three, including an officer, were killed near the village of Tibnine
early afternoon.
There was no immediate comment from the army command. It was unclear whether
the missile was Israeli or from Hezbollah guerrillas.
Sporadic violence has marked the UN-brokered cease-fire that took hold Aug.
14 and ended 34 days of ferocious fighting, but the truce has thus far held.
Israel claimed there was a three-hour exchange of fire in the disputed
Israeli-occupied Chebaa Farms area, where the borders of Lebanon, Syria and
Israel meet.
Lebanese security officials said Israeli military fired artillery into the
village of Chebaa, which is controlled by Lebanon. The officials said the
artillery fire landed near Lebanese army positions but no one was hurt.
Lebanese troops entered the village of Chebaa last week for the first time in
four decades as part of an eventual deployment of 15,000 troops in southern
Lebanon under the cease-fire deal.
In a separate incident, an Israeli soldier was killed and three were wounded
by a land mine Israel planted in southern Lebanon, the army said.
The army had planted the minefield just across Israel's northern border to
prevent Hezbollah guerrillas from infiltrating, the military said. Reports from
Lebanon said the soldiers' tank drove over the land mine, but the Israeli
military said it could not confirm that.
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