Israeli air force jets blasted terrorist bases and ammunition dumps in Lebanon on Wednesday, in retaliation for the three infiltration attempts this week.
According to a military spokesman, the targets were a base of the Abu Nidal organization near the Lebanon coastal town of Sidon, and a Hezbollah base near Lake Karoun in the Bekaa Valley of eastern Lebanon.
The raids followed three attempts by heavily armed terrorists to infiltrate into Israel through the southern Lebanon security zone between Sunday and Wednesday.
All of the attempts were foiled, as six of the terrorists were killed by Israel Defense Force patrols, assisted in some instances by the Israel-backed South Lebanon Army.
Three intruders were captured. One of them was seized by the SLA on Wednesday after his companion was slain in a gunfight with the IDF.
Military sources said air-to-ground missiles were used in Wednesday’s raid. Reports from Beirut spoke of heavy casualties. They said ambulances were seen taking wounded from the collapsed target buildings while ammunition dumps exploded nearby.
The IDF disclosed, meanwhile, that the terrorists killed in recent days were carrying 60 kilos of explosives in addition to their rifles and large quantities of ammunition.
They wore red headbands inscribed with verses from the Koran, which seemed to identify them with Hezbollah, the so-called “Party of God,” an extremist Shiite Moslem sect linked to Iran.
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