More militiamen wounded in south Lebannon
Lebanon, Military, 7/25/1997

Violence escalated in south Lebanon on July 24 with five pro-Israeli militiamen wounded in separate clashes.

An Israeli soldier was also wounded seriously when an artillery gun he was firing from a position inside the security zone malfunctioned, causing the shell to explode inside the barrel, according to Voice of the South radio, mouthpiece of the South Lebanon Army.

The broadcast acknowledged that five SLA militiamen were wounded in separate incidents, all claimed by Hizbullah.

"The Islamic resistance movement announces that its fighters detonated a bomb on the Kfarhouna-Jezzine road, inflicting many casualities and destroying one vehicle," a Hizbullah statement said.

The voice of the South said three SLA members were wounded in the attack.

Another Hizbullah statement said the guerrillas spotted an SLA patrol near Braachit and showered it with machine gun fire, inflicting casualties. Voice of the South said two militiamen were wounded in the attack.

Hizbullah MP Mohammed Eneish said a larger number of militiamen were deserting the SLA.

Eneish was speaking during a visit to the relatives of Ali Zaraket who were expelled from the security zone because their son had refused to join the SLA and had defected.

"We call on the truce monitoring committee to put pressure to bear on the Zionist enemy to secure the return of the expelled families to their villages, and to defend the residents of the security zone," Eneish said.

The roadside bombing s drew retaliatory shelling at Iquim al-Tuffah villages, including Bilaya, Kfar Milki and Jbaa.

Israeli artillery unleashed several barrages of 122 mm shells against the villages as Israeli warplanes swooped low in mock air raids that shook the area.

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