Cluster bomb kills Hezbollah guerrilla in Lebanon

BEIRUT, Nov 10 (Reuters) A Hezbollah guerrilla was killed in a cluster bomb blast today while clearing unexploded ordnance dropped by Israel during the recent war in Lebanon, a Hezbollah statement said.

The statement said the Shi'ite Muslim group had formed units to clear hundreds of thousands of cluster bombs strewn in large areas of south Lebanon.

Teams from the United Nations peacekeepers, Lebanese army and the United Arab Emirates are taking part in the demining process.

The statement, which identified the slain guerrilla as Tayseer Rizk, was the first time that Hezbollah had announced that its guerrillas were taking part in defusing unexploded bombs. It did not say where exactly in south Lebanon the incident happened.

More than 20 people have been killed and 70 wounded, mostly civilians, by cluster bombs since the end of a 34-day war between Israel and Hezbollah in mid-August.

REUTERS SP PM2005