TEL AVIV Ñ The Iranian-backed Hizbullah movement has again directed
anti-aircraft fire toward Israel.
Israeli military sources said Hizbullah gunners fired anti-aircraft
rounds toward Israeli aircraft that patrolled the border with Lebanon on
Monday. The sources said the Hizbullah fire came from two of its positions
along the border.
The Hizbullah anti-aircraft fire did not strike the Israeli jets and
unmanned air vehicles. It was the fifth time since Jan. 15 that Hizbullah
has targeted Israeli aircraft along the border.
"There were five such incidents; there could be more," Israeli
Transportation Minister Ephraim Sneh said on Tuesday. "They [Hizbullah] want
to heat up the border."
Hizbullah deploys 57 mm anti-aircraft rounds, debris of which have often
fallen into northern Israel. Monday's missile fire sparked an alert along
the Israeli
border and schoolchildren in area communities were taken to bomb shelters.
The Lebanese movement is also said to deploy the SA-7, SA-18 and Stinger
missiles. The missiles were supplied by Iran.
The United States has urged Israel to halt overflights in Lebanon,
saying such operations increase tension along the border areas.
In an unrelated development, Jordan was reported to have informed the
United States that the kingdom foiled 17 planned Islamic insurgency attacks.
The London-based A-Sharq Al Awsat reported on Tuesday that missiles and
mortars for many of these attacks were smuggled through the southern
Jordanian port of Aqaba and were meant to be fired against neighboring
Israel.
