Israeli soldiers shoot 5 Hizbollah gunmen -army

JERUSALEM, Aug 15 (Reuters) Israeli soldiers shot five Hizbollah gunmen in two separate confrontations in southern Lebanon today, the Israeli army said.

Army spokesmen, speaking a day after a UN-brokered ceasefire went into effect, said they did not know whether any of the gunmen had been killed.

Soldiers shot four gunmen in one clash. In a second incident, troops opened fire on a guerrilla as he came toward them, the spokesmen said. In both cases, the soldiers saw that they had shot the gunmen, they added.

Israeli troops yesterday shot five Hizbollah fighters, killing at least one of them, the army said, adding that the soldiers believed they had been under threat.

The Israeli army had said before the ceasefire its troops would stop offensive actions but would defend forces deployed in southern Lebanon.

Israeli forces entered Lebanon after Hizbollah guerrillas kidnapped two Israeli soldiers in a cross-border raid on July 12 and killed eight others.

Israeli officials said today the army planned to withdraw in as little as seven to 10 days and to hand over some of its forward positions to UN troops within 48 hours.

REUTERS KD KN1950