Israeli army casualties and artillery exchanges between Christian Phalangists forces and Druze militia marked the scene in south Lebanon during the past few days.
An Israeli soldier was killed and three others were wounded Friday when their vehicle ran over a mine north of Sidon. According to a count kept by Israel Radio, the number of Israelis killed in Lebanon since the start of the war there last June now stands at 478 and 2,614 wounded.
During the month of April, seven Israeli soldiers were killed and 15 wounded in 29 terrorist attacks on IDF personnel in Lebanon. Another three soldiers were wounded by Syrian gunfire or in clashes between Christians and Druze.
This morning, an Israeli tank ran over a mine on a road south of Beirut, but there were no casualities, an army spokesman said. The tank was on an early morning inspection of the road before it was opened for traffic.
In Beirut, two mortar shells landed and exploded not far from the American Ambassador’s residence where Secretary of State George Shultz was spending the night. The explosion awakened Shultz, but he did not leave his bedroom, according to a U.S. spokesman. There was no damage to the building.
The shells were apparently not aimed at the Ambassador’s residence but were part of an artillery exchange between Phalangist and Druze forces in the Shouf mountain area.
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