Seven Israeli soldiers were wounded, one of them fatally, in a terrorist ambush this morning while searching for terrorist collaborators in the Lebanese village of Kila. The casualties were evacuated by helicopter. Most of the wounds were described as slight, but one man died in the hospital. His name was withheld pending notification of his next of kin.
The Israeli unit continued its operation, demolishing several terrorist houses and killing an unspecified number of terrorists inside. They returned safely to Israel with seven suspected terrorist collaborators as prisoners. The force entered Kila which has been used as a base for terrorist infiltration into Israel apparently aided by some local residents. The village lies just west of Metullah where three terrorist infiltrators were killed earlier this week. Settlers at Metullah took to bomb shelters during the operation. Several mortar shells were fired at Metullah later today from Lebanese territory but no casualties or damage was reported, Israeli forces returned the fire.
The Israeli force was combing Kila when it was hit by a burst of fire from one of the buildings felling seven men. The buildings were subsequently demolished. It was learned, meanwhile, that Israeli soldiers on anti-terrorist missions inside Lebanon are under strict orders not to engage the Lebanese army or gendarmerie and not to open fire when women and children are in the vicinity. The men on the search mission had a list of suspected collaborators wanted in Israel for questioning and these were apparently the people taken prisoner. No other villagers were harmed.
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