Explosions in Shabaa Farms area

The Lebanese police said that artillery bombardment took place on Thursday evening between Israel and the Lebanese Hizbullah party in Shabaa Farms area which is located at the border triangle between Syria, Lebanon and Israel.

The police explained that one Israeli military tank and artilleries bombarded for 45 minutes several Lebanese villages adjoining this sector where 50 shelling fell.

The police added that the Hizbullah artillery whose fighters were deployed along the Lebanese borders with Israel retaliated the Israeli bombardment and fired mortars shelling at three Israeli positions in Shabaa Farms.

No casualties were reported from the two sides of the borders. Hizbullah denied it had attacked any Israeli positions.

The Israeli army stressed opening fire by its forces but said that it only opened fire at unpopulated areas in the context of "training to control the extent of fire range and in the course of routine defense measures."

Witnesses said earlier that the Israeli forces bombarded the hills surrounding the Lebanese border town Kafer Shouba and Shabaa and that Mortars shelling were opened at Israeli sites.

Israel occupied Shabaa Farms sector which is of an area of 20 square kilometers from Syria in 1967 and Beirut asks for having sovereignty on it from Damascus.

One Israeli military source said on Saturday that Israeli helicopters bombarded this area mistakenly but no casualties were reported.