Israel seizes Hizbollah member linked to abduction

JERUSALEM, Aug 6 (Reuters) The Israeli army said today it had captured one of the Hizbollah guerrillas who took part in the abduction of two Israeli soldiers in a cross-border raid last month, sparking the conflict with Hizbollah.

It was not clear where or when the fighter was seized, but Israel has carried out at least two commando raids deep inside Lebanon in the past week, one on a hospital in the northern town of Baalbek, and another on Friday in the southern city of Tyre.

Israel's intelligence chief told senior ministers that the militant was captured several days ago, political sources said, but no other details were provided.

''We can confirm that one of the Hizbollah (fighters) we have captured and interrogated was involved in the kidnapping of our soldiers,'' an army spokeswoman said.

The two soldiers were captured on July 12. Nothing has been heard about their welfare for at least 10 days, but they are believed to still be alive.

In Israel's two raids into Lebanon, at least five Hizbollah members have been captured and brought back to Israel.

After the raid on a hospital near Baalbek, however, Hizbollah denied that those seized belonged to its group.

Israeli media reported that one of the targets of that raid was a doctor who was believed to have treated the captured soldiers, but he was not found during the operation.

Israeli has also captured several Hizbollah fighters during clashes in southern Lebanon over the past three weeks.

The Israeli army declined to say how many Hizbollah members it was holding in total since the conflict began.

REUTERS AB RAI1819