Hizbollah attacks Israeli forces in Lebanon

Beirut, Aug 6: Hizbollah said its guerrillas attacked Israeli forces in south Lebanon today, inflicting several casualties, as Israeli aircraft pounded the region, killing eight civilians.

There was no immediate word from the Israeli army on Israeli casualties in the fighting, now in its 26th day.

Hizbollah guerrillas attacked a concentration of Israeli military vehicles in Wadi Honeen on the border and an armoured Israeli unit trying to advance towards Adayseh village, killing or wounding several soldiers, the Shi'ite group said.

It said two tanks and two bulldozers were destroyed in Adayseh.

Israeli warplanes launched scores of strikes on large swaths of south Lebanon, killing at least eight civilians, security sources and witnesses said. Artillery on the Israeli side of the border pounded border towns and villages.

At least 10,000 Israeli troops are inside Lebanon trying to dislodge Hizbollah fighters from the border area and stop them firing rockets into Israel.

Hizbollah, which triggered the war by capturing two Israeli soldiers in a cross-border raid on July 12, has killed 78 Israelis. Lebanon says more than 900 people, mostly civilians, have been killed by Israeli attacks.

Reuters