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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| Commandos target Hezbollah leaders |
| 2006-08-05 |
| ISRAELI naval commandos landed in the southern Lebanese city of Tyre Saturday, storming an apartment block where they killed three Hezbollah militants in fierce clashes before escaping back to Israel. The operation, the second such raid this week, came as Israel launched its heaviest bombardment of southern Lebanon since its offensive began, carrying out 250 air raids and firing some 4000 shells into the region. The Israeli military said it killed three Hezbollah militants in the night-time commando raid and that eight of its soldiers were wounded - two of them, including an officer, seriously. "Guided by very precise intelligence, navy commandos entered an apartment on the second floor of a five-story building in the north of Tyre, where they killed at least three Hezbollah leaders," an Israeli naval commander said. "There were point-blank exchanges of fire and grenades were thrown inside the apartment and two of our troops were seriously wounded," he said. The commander said the three dead were behind the firing of a missile late Friday on the Israeli town of Hadera, some 75 kilometres from the frontier, the deepest strike into the Jewish state of the present conflict. "Our commandos were able to retreat and to hit with counterstrikes six to eight terrorists from neighbouring buildings, killing some of them, and to return to Israel with aviation support," he said. A Lebanese soldier was also killed in the commando raid after his unit opened fire on the Israeli helicopters, police said. A witness close to Hezbollah, who declined to be named, told AFP that an Israeli helicopter landed at Jall al-Bahr, an area of orchards at Tyre's northern entrance, and fell straight into a Hezbollah "ambush". "A member of the commando group was killed and three others wounded," said the source, who added that the soldiers left a trail of blood in their wake as they made their escape through a hole in a fence. It was the first time in the conflict that Israeli troops had landed in the southern port city, but the raid came days after a similar helicopter-borne operation near the eastern city of Baalbek resulted in the capture of five alleged militants. Police said that the Israeli helicopters fired four missiles at Tyre's northern entrance, provoking a barrage of anti-aircraft fire. A large number of helicopters had roared over Tyre before dawn, strafing all routes into the city. Residents said the exchanges sparked panic in the area. A clinic north of the city said it was forced to move its patients for their own safety. "It was a real battle," a doctor said. The barrage of raids over south Lebanon Saturday lasted for seven hours from dawn, with the worst-hit region the area around the village of Aitaroun which was hit by 2,000 shells. Police said that 15 villages some five kilometres (three miles) from the border were being systematically destroyed by the bombardments, which come after Israel vowed to create a security zone free of Hezbollah fighters. Fourteen people were wounded, with more casualties only avoided because the villages had already largely emptied of residents in the face of persistent Israeli fire. Israeli troops have advanced from at least seven points on the border to establish a border buffer zone that General Udi Adam, chief of Israel's northern command, said is now up to 10 kilometres (six miles) deep. "On the 25th day of our offensive, we control in south Lebanon a zone of five to eight, even 10 kilometres," the general said. In fighting around the village of Taibe not far from the border, one soldier was killed and another lightly wounded, an army spokesman in Tel Aviv said. Israeli warplanes also carried out pre-dawn attacks for a third straight night against Beirut's southern suburbs, a Hezbollah bastion. The fighter-bombers struck the area six times, police said, without immediately being able to give details of the targets. As daylight broke, flames were still visible from the area which was covered in a thick pall of black smoke. |
| Posted by:tipper |
| #25 OK that guy is from the north pole guild, we Middle Earth LOTR elves don't claim those guys, we are from the warrior caste hahahahahahaha (and their she-elves, uuughhhh! - you'd probably be gay too) anywho ... this hole just keeps getting deeper, I think I need to put the shovel down. hahahahaha, how did I get here from just minding my own business, supporting the COTW and Israel |
| Posted by: Legolas 2006-08-05 19:02 |
| #24 thank you very much.... we'll work on other acronyms at our usual Tuesday O-Club class |
| Posted by: Frank G 2006-08-05 18:56 |
| #23 How could I possibly mock, Legolas, when I don't even know what "tyvm" means? ;-) |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2006-08-05 18:54 |
| #22 Legolas, it seems that there is at least one elf who finds she-elfs resistible: Link. |
| Posted by: ryuge 2006-08-05 18:43 |
| #21 damn it railing wife Freudian slip? |
| Posted by: xbalanke 2006-08-05 16:31 |
| #20 why trailing wife I do believe you are mocking me, and here I was being nice and respectful ... and by the way, there are no gay elfs, the she-elfs are too hot and irresistable |
| Posted by: Legolas 2006-08-05 16:29 |
| #19 what do they call gay elfs? |
| Posted by: Frank G 2006-08-05 16:12 |
| #18 I guess one person's elf is another person's fairy. Or that's what the BBC says anyway. |
| Posted by: Matt 2006-08-05 16:03 |
| #17 As you say, dearest Legolas. *exceedingly gentle smile* |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2006-08-05 15:37 |
| #16 and they are hot "she-elfs", not fairies tyvm! |
| Posted by: Legolas 2006-08-05 15:02 |
| #15 ooops and that would be "trailing wife" .... never said elves could type |
| Posted by: Legolas 2006-08-05 15:02 |
| #14 damn it railing wife ... how did you know? |
| Posted by: Legolas 2006-08-05 15:01 |
| #13 Yalla ya Nasrallah was posted here yesterday, Legolas. Stop chasing after those hot fairy chicas and pay attention! ;-) |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2006-08-05 14:24 |
| #12 powerline.com has a hilarious video if you haven't seen it ... Yalla Ya Nasrallah ...its a music video the IDF played when they hacked the hezbollah TV ... funny ... catchy tune .... just go to powerline.com and scroll down |
| Posted by: Legolas 2006-08-05 14:18 |
| #11 Counter Terrorismblog with details on this raid This tidbit is in there too: The raid in Tyre is the " 17th time IDF commando units were deployed deep inside Lebanese territory," |
| Posted by: 3dc 2006-08-05 13:39 |
| #10 The cunning linguists at the BBC have rules about using Quagmire when it applies to *cough* Militants and other people in their struggle against normal people. |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul at Anchorge Airport 2006-08-05 12:56 |
| #9 Its highly interesting i find the way the media have gone out of there way to avoid using the 'Q' word to describe the state of hezbollah and its poor mans military machine, but from just about every angle i look at this from it really is a QUAGMIRE for hezbollah, i shall be mailing the BBC to ask them why they choose not to use this word, after all it was their favourite term during the Iraq war yet has oddly been forgotten now the side thier gunning for and trumping up is in a QUAGMIRE! Most amusing. |
| Posted by: ShepUK 2006-08-05 12:19 |
| #8 For starters, let the Israelies know that Hezspurta is there. Makes it much simpler for targeting you know. Then keep letting Israel know where the terrorists are and so it won't be "Hezspurta Heartland". Cause, meet effect and vice versa. |
| Posted by: DarthVader 2006-08-05 12:09 |
#7 Dr Fatah went on to say...
Pllenty of other places to fight from Doc, and people tend to get annoyed when hospitals are used in this way... |
| Posted by: Tony (UK) 2006-08-05 12:06 |
| #6 Really, these people are barbaric. It's like Israel should just hit the hospitals and ambulances precisely because they are most likely to be used for military purposes. Hez is the opposite of civilized. Israel will need to destroy it's 'civil services' infrastructure -- which is sad given how poor most of the Shia in southern Leb are -- because they are so many facilities that essentiall dual use. |
| Posted by: JAB 2006-08-05 11:39 |
| #5 excellent catch, Justrand! |
| Posted by: Frank G 2006-08-05 10:14 |
| #4 Canada National Post article... TYRE, Lebanon - When Dr. Fouad Fatah emerged bleary-eyed from the ruins of his hospital during a pause in Israeli air strikes last week, it felt like the first time in forever. He counted himself as the last living soul in the five-room clinic, the only hospital serving this devastated swath of Lebanon's south. His surviving patients had already been evacuated. "Look what they did to this place," Dr. Fatah said, shaking his head. "Why in the world would the Israelis target a hospital?" The probable answer was found a few hours later in a field nearby. Hidden in the tall grass were the burned remnants of a rocket-launcher. Confronted with the evidence, Dr. Fatah admitted his hospital could have been used as a site from which to fire rockets into Israel. -------------- gee, Doc, maybe that answers your question: "Why in the world would the Israelis target a hospital?" for all its messiness in hindsight, Dresden was VERY effective at the time!! Just sayin'... |
| Posted by: Justrand 2006-08-05 10:03 |
| #3 Part of this commando effort is to actually take out the leadership of the Hezbullies. The other part is to communicate to them that we can get you wherever you are. Good on you IDF. |
| Posted by: JohnQC 2006-08-05 09:43 |
| #2 oooops |
| Posted by: Legolas 2006-08-05 09:41 |
| #1 jpost version of the story |
| Posted by: Legolas 2006-08-05 09:41 |