Tzahal mounts fresh Lebanon raid

BBC and Agencies, Saturday, 19 August 2006

Tzahal, the Zionist armed wing has admitted that it carried out an overnight raid inside Lebanon in the Bekaa Valley. Tzahal's fresh attack in Lebanon came five days after a UN-brokered ceasefire ended the month-long conflict and hours after UN chief Kofi Annan warned of a 'fragile' situation on the ground. Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora said the raid by was 'a naked violation of the cessation of hostilities declared by the Security Council'.

A Tzahal spokesperson admitted to the AFP news agency that 'special forces' (shorthand for Matkal, its fanatical core of hardened fighters) had 'operated deep inside Lebanon'. However, the spokesperson claimed the raid was to prevent arms being delivered to the Lebanese Hizbollah movement by Iran and Syria, who have denied this.

The attack centred on the village of Bodai, west of the city of Baalbek, some 100km (60 miles) north of the Israeli border and 26 km (16 miles) from the Syrian border. Lebanese security sources said said the gunmen and two vehicles were flown by helicopter into the area and headed towards an office of a Hizbollah leader, Sheikh Mohammed Yazbek, in Bodai. The reports said they were driven back by Hizbollah commandos and withdrew under cover of air strikes. Tzahal missile strikes in the area were also reported.

The sources said three Hizbollah commandos were killed in a firefight with the Tzahal gunmen, although Hizbollah said none of its soldiers were killed or wounded. Tzahal has admitted to one of its gunmen dead and two wounded.