Israel suspects Hezbollah of planting explosives

JERUSALEM, Feb 5 (Reuters) Israel's military said today it had found explosive devices near its border fence with Lebanon for the first time since last year's war and it suspected Hezbollah guerrillas were responsible.

Hezbollah officials in Lebanon were not immediately available for comment.

The military said Israeli patrols were the apparent target of the four devices, discovered and safely detonated by army experts inside Israeli territory between the border community of Avivim and the Lebanese village of Maroun al-Ras.

''We assume that the terrorists from Hezbollah did it,'' Lt.- Colonel Guy Hazoot, operations officer with Israel's Northern Command, told Reuters. ''We assume they did it last night. We did not see it (the explosive devices) before.'' He said the devices were the first found by the Israeli military in the area since last year's 34-day war against Hezbollah.

The United Nations peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon, UNIFIL, has helped enforce a UN-brokered ceasefire that took effect on August 14. A UNIFIL spokesman said the Israeli military had informed the force about the incident and ''UNIFIL is now ascertaining the facts''.

In addition to monitoring the ceasefire, the UN mission provides humanitarian aid and clears mines and other explosive devices remaining in the area from previous conflicts.

Israel launched an offensive into Lebanon after Hezbollah abducted two Israeli soldiers in a July 12 cross-border raid.

Around 1,200 Lebanese and 159 Israelis were killed before the August truce.

REUTERS MS HS2213