Israel says damaged ship off Lebanon being towed home

JERUSALEM, July 15 (Reuters) An Israeli missile ship badly damaged in an attack off Lebanon was still burning and being towed back to the Jewish state, the army said.

Four Israeli troops were missing after the warship was hit in an attack claimed by Hizbollah yesterday, Al Jazeera television said, as violence escalated between Israel and the guerrilla group.

''Apparently the ship was damaged more than we thought. At the moment it's on its way to Israel. It's still burning,'' an army spokeswoman said.

Israeli media said an unmanned airborne drone packed with explosives had hit the vessel, which was 16 km off the Lebanese coast at the time. The army spokeswoman said she had no information on what hit the ship.

Army Radio said the impact caused a major fire. It said 80 crew were on board.

REUTERS SRS BD0450