Israel kills 26 Hizbollah fighters - army

JERUSALEM, July 29 (Reuters) Israel said it had killed 26 Hizbollah guerrillas in fighting in the town of Bint Jbeil in southern Lebanon which it said brought the total number killed in the conflict to more than 200.

''(Israeli) forces are still there at the moment,'' an army spokeswoman said yesterday. ''There are ongoing clashes taking place.'' The spokeswoman said soldiers found armaments, including anti-tank missiles, assault rifles and a mine detector, in the town.

Hizbollah, which accuses Israel of inflating the numbers of its dead to hurt morale, says 31 of its fighters have died so far in combat.

Earlier an Israeli military source had said there had been sporadic clashes between Israeli troops and Hizbollah fighters.

The heaviest losses for the guerrillas were thought to have been in fighting around the south Lebanon towns of Maroun al-Ras and Bint Jbeil, another source said. A total of 33 Israeli soldiers have also died in the 17 days of conflict.

REUTERS SRS BST0517