An Israel Defense Force patrol seized several Katyusha rocket-launchers in the south Lebanon security zone yesterday and killed one terrorist, military sources reported.
It was the first operation of its kind by Israeli forces since the IDF withdrew from Lebanese territory last month. Beirut radio reported that three Shiite Moslems were killed in the clash by helicopter-bourne Israeli troops and 10 others were wounded.
According to the Beirut reports, the helicopters landed near the Shiite village of Kabrikha, about eight kilometers west of the Israel border in Upper Galilee early Sunday morning. The Israelis carried out house-to-house searches. Two of the Shiites killed were involved in recent attacks on the IDF and its allied South Lebanon Army (SLA), the reports said.
The IDF quit Lebanon early in June, leaving behind liaison and training officers attached to the SLA. It has also carried out routine patrols in the security zone, a belt eight to 12 miles in depth which serves as a buffer to keep terrorist infiltrators away from the Israel border.
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