Army says two Israeli soldiers killed in Lebanon

JERUSALEM, July 19 (Reuters) Two Israeli soldiers were killed and nine others wounded in heavy fighting with Hizbollah guerrillas inside Lebanon today, the Israeli army said.

One Hizbollah fighter was killed, the army said.

''Hizbollah attacked soldiers operating in the area and troops opened fire and killed one of the militants,'' the army said. ''The (Hizbollah) cell escaped to a nearby village.'' An army spokesman said the military obtained intelligence that the cell was planning an attack, possibly a land raid into northern Israel. Troops crossed the border to investigate and came under fire around midday, he said.

Troops had moved in north of the Israeli village of Avivim, the spokesman said. Asked how far they went inside Lebanon, he said it was not a matter of kilometres.

Troops sent in to assist also came under attack.

''Forces went in to rescue those injured. During that activity they also came under fire. An armoured vehicle was hit but it did not explode,'' said the spokesman.

The spokesman said he was only aware of Hizbollah automatic weapons fire in the clash, nothing heavier.

Israeli soldiers had earlier gone into the area overnight to destroy Hizbollah posts and rocket launch sites, he said. Troops have been carrying out such missions periodically in recent days.

Hizbollah has now killed 14 Israeli soldiers since fighting erupted one week ago, including eight in a cross-border raid that sparked the crisis.

REUTERS PKS PC2241