Israelis kill Shi’ite official

JERUSALEM, Aug. 25 (JTA) — Tensions rose in southern Lebanon after a leading official in the Shi’ite Amal movement was killed in an Israeli helicopter raid. Israeli troops also fired rockets Tuesday at suspected Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon. The Israeli actions came after the fundamentalist group claimed responsibility for the death of one member of the Israel-allied South Lebanon Army in a roadside bombing. The target person in the Israeli raid near the southern Lebanon city of Tyre was Hussam al-Amin, 31, described by the Israeli authorities as an Amal operations officer in southern Lebanon. Defense Minister Yitzhak Mordechai explained that Amin was involved in a series of terrorist operations against the Israel Defense Force and the South Lebanese Army troops in southern Lebanon, as well as attacks against northern Israel.