Israel shoots down Hizbollah drone

JERUSALEM, Aug 7 (Reuters) Israeli aircraft shot down an unmanned spy plane launched by the Lebanese guerrilla group Hizbollah as it was about to enter Israeli territory today, the Israeli army said.

''The (army) identified the drone just before it crossed the border into Israel and planes were sent to intercept it,'' an army spokesman said.

''The aircraft was intercepted at a short height above the sea and Israeli navy boats collected the remains.'' It was the third time in the past two years that Hizbollah had tried to fly a drone over Israel, the army said. The most recent incident was in April 2005, when an unmanned plane flew over the Western Galilee region before returning to Lebanon.

Israel's Channel One television reported the drone shot down today was armed, but the army had no comment.

REUTERS MQA KP2251