Three Israeli soldiers were killed and two severely injured in a bomb ambush Tuesday in the southern Lebanon security zone, the deadliest incident of its kind there in six months.
Lebanese sources reported that the Shi’ite Hezbollah group took responsibility for the attack, which occurred while the Israeli soldiers were on foot patrol near Ataibe village.
The Israeli army-subsequently launched heavy attacks against guerrilla positions in retaliation.
Sources said Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and the military commander of the northern front, Maj. Gen. Yitzhak Mordechai, visited northern Israel following the explosion and were briefed on the incident by the commanders involved.
So far this year, some 40 bombs have been discovered that were intended for Israel Defense Force targets and those of the Israeli-backed South Lebanon Army, according to IDF sources.
Most of these were dismantled before causing any damage, the army added.
A preliminary investigation indicated that the bomb in Tuesday’s explosion may not have been planted recently, military sources said.
Capt. Elad Ben David of Ashkelon, Lt. Moshe Beri of Rehovot and Staff Sgt. Peter Rappaport of Beersheba were killed in the explosion.
Two other soldiers, critically wounded, were evacuated by helicopter and taken to the hospital in Haifa.
In an unrelated incident in Tel Aviv, a hand grenade attached to a private car blew up near a soldiers’ recreation hall Tuesday, causing no injuries. Another grenade was found in a school-yard.
Police were investigating both terrorist and criminal motivations in the two cases.
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