Israeli intelligence ties rocket attack from Lebanon to Al Qaida

Special to WorldTribune.com

TEL AVIV — Israel has been struck by a rocket barrage from Lebanon.

Officials said Lebanese gunners, believed linked to Al Qaida, fired at least four medium-range rockets into Israel on Aug. 22.

Israeli police stand in front of a house damaged by a rocket fired from Lebanon in Shavei Tzion northern Israel on Aug. 22.  /AP/Jinipix
Israeli police stand in front of a house damaged by a rocket fired from Lebanon in Shavei Tzion northern Israel on Aug. 22. /AP/Jinipix

They said one of the rockets, believed fired from the coastal city of Tyre, was intercepted by Israel’s Iron Dome defense system.

“We have determined intelligence-wise that the rocket fire was launched by global jihadist elements,” Israeli military spokesman Brig. Gen. Yoav Mordechai said.

Officials said this marked one of the longest-range attacks from Lebanon since the war with the Iranian-sponsored Hizbullah in 2006. They said Iron Dome intercepted one of the rockets between the northern cities of Nahariya and Acre, some 30 kilometers from the Lebanese border.

“The only force with rockets that can fly from Tyre to Acre is Hizbullah,” an official said.

The Al Qaida-aligned Abdullah Azzam Brigades claimed responsibility for the attack. Abdullah Azzam, linked to factions in Iraq and Syria, took credit for previous rocket attacks against Israel, including those fired from Jordan.

Two of the rockets fell in a kibbutz but nobody was injured. The
military said the fourth rocket fell outside of Israeli territory.

“This marked the first interception by the Iron Dome since it was
deployed in the northern region,” the military said.

The military said Israel could come under additional rocket attacks from
Lebanon. Mordechai said all air traffic around the northern city of Haifa
was closed “until the picture becomes clear.”

Officials linked the rocket strike on Israel to international outrage
over the killing of up to 1,300 Syrians in chemical weapons attacks
attributed to the regime of President Bashar Assad. They said the military
assessed that Hizbullah ordered proxies to launch the rockets to divert
attention from the Assad regime.

“This is directly connected to all of the events taking place in the
Middle East,” Mordechai said.

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