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Israeli forces, Hizbollah clash, 2 Israeli soldiers feared kidnapped
13/7/2006 11:41

Israeli forces and Lebanon's Hizbollah militia clashed along the border area on Wednesday and Hizbollah claimed kidnapping two Israeli soldiers.

The fierce border confrontation came after at least two rockets hit northern Israel from southern Lebanon, wounding four Israeli civilians in the Shlomi community.

Magen David Adom, Israel's medical service, said that the four wounded were evacuated to hospital for medical treatment and that three of them sustained light injuries while a fourth was in moderate condition.

Shortly after the rocket firing, the Israeli army pounded the Lebanese villages of Aita el-Shaab, Ramieh and Yaroun in southern Lebanon, stronghold of Hizbollah, and exchanged fire with Hizbollah militants over the Israel-Lebanon border.

Residents in northern Israel were reportedly hearing massive sounds of gunfire and explosions and were ordered to enter bomb shelters.

In addition, Israeli warplanes struck bridges and a power plant in southern Lebanon.

Meanwhile, Hizbollah claimed via its television channel al-Manar that its militants had captured two Israeli soldiers in the border area during the clashes.

The captured soldiers had been sent to a safe place, the report added, without revealing further details.

The Israeli army said that two Israeli soldiers were missing in the border area and might have been kidnapped, but could not confirm the abduction yet.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert vowed that those involved in the attack on Israel's northern border would pay a "heavy price."

Wednesday's violence came as Israeli troops pressed ahead a massive offensive in the Gaza Strip in a bid to free an Israeli soldier kidnapped by Palestinian militants and prevent Palestinian rocket attacks.



Xinhua News