Israeli forces killed 26 Hezbollah guerillas in clashes in south Lebanon on Friday, the Israeli army said.

The Israeli forces clashed with Hezbollah guerillas in the southern Lebanese border town of Bint Jbeil, said an Israeli army spokesman, adding that so far 26 Hezbollah fighters had been killed.

The Israeli troops were still there, he added. There was no immediate word on whether there were any casualties on the Israeli side.

Earlier, the army said that 15 Hezbollah guerillas were killed in the fighting.

Bint Jbeil, about 4 km into south Lebanon from the border with Israel, is a Hezbollah stronghold.

A senior Israeli general announced on Tuesday that the Israeli army had taken complete control of the town.

But Israeli forces and Hezbollah guerillas have clashed against each other in and around the town in recent days.

On Wednesday, nine Israeli soldiers were killed in clashes against Hezbollah in Bint Jbeil.

Earlier on Friday, Israeli army sources said that at least 200 members of Hezbollah had been killed in the 17 days of violence.

The conflict between the two sides erupted when Hezbollah guerillas captured two Israeli soldiers and killed eight others during a July 12 cross-border attack.