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Israeli jets fire over German navy ship off Lebanon
Israeli jets fire over German navy ship off Lebanon BERLIN, Oct 25 (Rooters) - Two Israeli warplanes have fired over a German naval vessel patrolling off the Lebanese coast, the Defence Ministry in Berlin said on Wednesday. The daily Der Tagesspiegel quoted a German junior defence minister as telling a parliamentary committee that two Israeli F-16 fighters had flown low over the ship, firing twice. The jets also activated infra-red countermeasures to ward off any rocket attack, the paper quoted him as saying, in an advance release from Thursday's edition. The minister did not say when the incident happened or what had caused it. "I can confirm that there was an incident," a ministry spokesman said on Wednesday. He declined to give further details as an investigation was under way. An Israeli military spokeswoman said she was checking the report. Germany assumed command of a United Nations naval force off Lebanon 10 days ago, and has sent eight ships and 1,000 service personnel to join the international peace operation in the region. The naval force is charged with preventing weapons smuggling and helping maintain a ceasefire between Israel and the Lebanese Islamic militant group Hezbollah DEBKA report: German defense ministry reports two Israeli F-16 warplanes flew low over a German navy vessel off Lebanon and fired two shots. The defense ministry in Berlin offered no further details on the incident or when it happened. The German daily Der Tagesspiegel earlier Wednesday, Oct. 25, quoted a junior defense minister as making this report to a parliamentary committee. The Israeli jets also released infra-red countermeasures to ward off any rocket attack, the paper quoted him as saying. The minister did not say when the incident happened or what had caused it, the paper said. The IDF spokesperson said the incident is being investigated. Germany assumed command of a United Nations naval force off the coast of Lebanon 10 days ago and has sent a force of eight ships and 1,000 service personnel to join the international peace operation in the region. Posted by: Anonymoose 2006-10-25 |
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