Israeli warplanes attack guerrilla bases after two soldiers wounded
Lebanon, Military, 10/25/1997

Israeli warplanes rocketed guerrilla bases near Beirut and in south Lebanon Saturday, few hours after guerrillas injured two Israelis in a late night attack on an Israeli outpost, security sources said.

The Israeli victims, an officer and a soldier, were wounded when guerrillas opened fire around midnight Friday on an Israeli outpost in an occupied enclave in southern Lebanon. The Israelis were moved by helicopter to Israel for treatment. Their injuries were described as moderate to serious, the sources said.

In retaliation, Israel sent its warplanes at dawn Saturday to strike a Palestinian base in Naameh, around 15 kilometers south of the capital Beirut. There were no casualties from the raid on the base belonging to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command, a radical group opposed to the Middle East peace process.

The sources said the Israeli jets fired at least two rockets on the base, without causing major damage.

Thirty minutes later, Israeli warplanes attacked Hezbollah bases in Iqlim al-Tuffah, a Hezbollah stronghold just opposite from the enclave Israel has occupied since 1985. There were no reported casualties.

Israeli strikes on the base in Naameh have become more frequent recently, with Saturday's raid being the third in less than ten days.

On Friday, the Israeli army and Lebanese security sources said three guerrillas were killed in southern Lebanon when guerrillas trying to infiltrate the border zone clashed with Israeli troops. They did not say which group the guerrillas belonged to.

A spokesman for the Hezbollah group said Hezbollah fighters did not launch any attacks Friday. The Palestinian group Islamic Jihad, meanwhile, issued a statement claiming responsibility for the attack on the edge of the security zone Friday. While the statement mentioned no casualties, it said the attack was carried out to mark the second anniversary of the assassination of Fathi Shukaki, the group's founder who was murdered in Malta by Israeli agents.

Attacks by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad in south Lebanon are rare, but not unheard of. Several Lebanese as well as Palestinian guerrilla groups are fighting to evict Israeli troops and their Lebanese militia allies from the border strip in south Lebanon.

Previous Stories:
  Israel hits Naameh again   (10/21/1997)
  Israel raids Palestinian base near Beirut, injures civilian in South   (10/18/1997)

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