Eight Israeli troops killed in heavy fighting sparked by Hizballah kidnap of two Israeli soldiers under heavy rocket-mortar fire early Wednesday.
Eight Israeli troops killed in heavy fighting sparked by Hizballah kidnap of two Israeli soldiers under heavy rocket-mortar fire early Wednesday. Eleven civilians injured
July 12, 2006, 10:39 PM (GMT+02:00)
Four troops killed when their tank blew up in pursuit of kidnappers, three during the abduction.
Al Arabiya TV reported later that both Israeli hostages, said to be Druze IDF fighters, are wounded. This is not confirmed.
Wednesday afternoon, Hizballah began shelling Israeli posts on Mt Dov and the Shabaa Farms. Israeli air force is striking sources of fire. Israel has called up air force and armored infantry reserves. Five Katyusha rockets were fired by Hizballah over Mt Meron in Israel. A Hizballah infiltrator was spotted and shot dead near the Yakinton army border post.
A special operations unit was dropped over the Beirut area midday Wednesday in effort to intercept the Hizballah kidnappers with hostages before they disappeared in the Shiite district. Israel continues to bomb bridges, roads, power stations and Hizballah positions from the air and the sea. So far pursuit units battled Hizballah and Palestinian pursuit units in Lebanon have not caught up with the kidnappers. The bodies of the tank crew have not been recovered.
DEBKAfile’s military sources: Preparations for the Hizballah kidnap operation were sighted well in advance at its border positions. The attack did not therefore come as a surprise. Nonetheless the first IDF probe conducted after the attack found that a Hizballah commando unit transferred from its Baalbek base had managed to infiltrate the northern border, lie in wait for two Israeli Hammer jeeps patrolling the border, and blow them up at around 0900 a.m., injuring 6 soldiers, three critically.
After long moments, medical teams arrived and only then were the two kidnapped soldiers found missing.
There is a strong parallel between the Hizballah kidnap operation and the Hamas attack and abduction of Gilead Shalit on June 25. The result is that Israeli is now fighting on two fronts and forced to stage incursions into two territories evacuated by its troops and used as terrorist strongholds. The Lebanese front differs from the Hamas front in Gaza in that Hizballah has arrayed its 12,000 rockets and missiles on the ready. Within their range are Israel’s northern cities from Nahariya to Haifa and Hadera in central Israel. Should the war situation escalate, Syrian military and air intervention cannot be ruled out.
July 12, 2006, 10:39 PM (GMT+02:00)
Four troops killed when their tank blew up in pursuit of kidnappers, three during the abduction.
Al Arabiya TV reported later that both Israeli hostages, said to be Druze IDF fighters, are wounded. This is not confirmed.
Wednesday afternoon, Hizballah began shelling Israeli posts on Mt Dov and the Shabaa Farms. Israeli air force is striking sources of fire. Israel has called up air force and armored infantry reserves. Five Katyusha rockets were fired by Hizballah over Mt Meron in Israel. A Hizballah infiltrator was spotted and shot dead near the Yakinton army border post.
A special operations unit was dropped over the Beirut area midday Wednesday in effort to intercept the Hizballah kidnappers with hostages before they disappeared in the Shiite district. Israel continues to bomb bridges, roads, power stations and Hizballah positions from the air and the sea. So far pursuit units battled Hizballah and Palestinian pursuit units in Lebanon have not caught up with the kidnappers. The bodies of the tank crew have not been recovered.
DEBKAfile’s military sources: Preparations for the Hizballah kidnap operation were sighted well in advance at its border positions. The attack did not therefore come as a surprise. Nonetheless the first IDF probe conducted after the attack found that a Hizballah commando unit transferred from its Baalbek base had managed to infiltrate the northern border, lie in wait for two Israeli Hammer jeeps patrolling the border, and blow them up at around 0900 a.m., injuring 6 soldiers, three critically.
After long moments, medical teams arrived and only then were the two kidnapped soldiers found missing.
There is a strong parallel between the Hizballah kidnap operation and the Hamas attack and abduction of Gilead Shalit on June 25. The result is that Israeli is now fighting on two fronts and forced to stage incursions into two territories evacuated by its troops and used as terrorist strongholds. The Lebanese front differs from the Hamas front in Gaza in that Hizballah has arrayed its 12,000 rockets and missiles on the ready. Within their range are Israel’s northern cities from Nahariya to Haifa and Hadera in central Israel. Should the war situation escalate, Syrian military and air intervention cannot be ruled out.
posted by shummer60 at Wednesday, July 12, 2006
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