A mine explosion that killed three Israeli paratroopers and seriously wounded two others in southern Lebanon might have been prevented if the army unit involved had followed standard procedures, according to initial reports.
In the attack Tuesday, a 12-man foot patrol spotted the mine a few miles west of Metulla, inside the security zone in southern Lebanon.
The Iranian-backed Shi’ite Hezbollah organization has claimed responsibility for the bombing.
The patrol reportedly disobeyed standing orders, which direct soldiers to move out of the area slowly and summon a specialized sappers unit to defuse the devices, according to an account in the daily Ha’aretz newspaper.
The movement of one of the soldiers apparently set off the charge, detonating two or three other explosive devices in the immediate vicinity.
The Israel Defense Force chief of staff, Lt. Gen. Ehud Barak, visited the scene of the attack with Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, who also holds the defense portfolio, and the northern front commander, Maj. Gen. Yitzhak Mordechai.
Barak appeared to confirm media reports that the 12-man patrol may have acted in error.
“We will carry out a thorough study of the incident and draw all possible conclusions and lessons,” Barak said.
Israeli army sources said attacks of this sort were anticipated and that Hezbollah was responsible for most of the 40 explosive devices planted in the zone since the beginning of the year.
All but two of the devices had been neutralized by sappers of the IDF or its allied South Lebanon Army without casualties.
The IDF said Hezbollah was trying to sabotage the peace process with its attacks.
In the two other mishaps in the region this year, five soldiers of the SLA and IDF were killed.
The soldiers killed in Tuesday’s attack were identified by the IDF as platoon commander Capt. Elad (Ephraim) Ben-David of Ashkelon; his deputy and section commander, Lt. Moshe Barri of Rehovot; and Sgt. Peter Rappaport of Beersheba.
They were buried in the military sections of their local cemeteries Wednesday.
The two wounded soldiers, flown by helicopter to Haifa’s Rambam Hospital after on-the-spot treatment by the unit’s medical officer, were reported to be in serious, but stable condition.
IDF and SLA artillery and tank gunners retaliated Tuesday and Wednesday with a heavy bombardment of suspected Hezbollah forces outside the zone and IDF helicopter gunships fired missiles at selected targets.
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