Nine civilians killed in south Lebanon violence
Lebanon, Military, 11/24/1997

Nine civilians were killed in an Israeli-occupied area of south Lebanon Sunday in the bloodiest day of confrontations between Israeli troops and Lebanese guerrillas in months.

Two Israeli soldiers were injured and four Shiite Muslim guerrillas were also killed in the clashes.

Security sources in south Lebanon said confrontations started early Sunday when guerrillas from the Shiite Muslim Amal movement clashed with Israeli troops in the western sector of the occupied zone. The group released a statement saying its fighters carried out a series of attacks against the Israeli soldiers' positions.

A heavy exchange of fire erupted in which two Israeli soldiers were wounded and four Amal guerrillas killed.

The exchanges of fire, in which many kinds of weapons were engaged, continued for several hours. Security sources said more than a dozen mortars slammed into the village of Beit Leef, only a few kilometers from the international border with Israel, killing nine civilians, their ages ranging between five and 80 years.

Some 15 others were wounded when the mortar rounds unexpectedly hit. Among the 15 were at least five with serious injuries. They were taken to hospitals in northern Israel for treatment.

Later Sunday, Israeli warplanes raided suspected Hizbullah hideouts in Jebal al-Botom and Zibqine, firing a total of three missiles over the area which faces the occupied zone. There were no casualties reported from the air attack.

Israeli troops also fired rounds of internationally-banned flechette shells into the town of Nabatiyeh, causing material damages but no casualties. A Lebanese woman was injured in Biout al-Sayyad, south of Tyre, from Israeli retaliatory shelling.

Israeli officials blamed Hizbullah guerrillas for the attack on Beit Leef. They said a number of Katyusha rockets fired by the guerrillas also fell in northern Israel. In Lebanon, however, there was no claim of responsibility for the attack from any of the guerrilla groups.

Lebanese Housing Minister Ayyoub Hmayed blamed Israel for the attack, saying it was aimed at creating a wedge between residents of the security zone and the Lebanese resistance led by Hizbullah.

Previous Stories:
  More violence in the South   (11/21/1997)
  Israel decides to stay in Lebanon   (11/20/1997)
  Monitoring committee's meeting   (11/5/1997)

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