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IDF commandos capture Hizbullah members after battle
yaakov katz, jpost staff, and AP, THE JERUSALEM POST    Aug. 1, 2006

After several hours of intense fighting in and around the in the eastern Lebanon town of Baalbek, which was built by Iran for the express purpose of treating Hizbullah operatives, IDF commando forces on Wednesday morning took a number of Hizbullah operatives captive.

An IAF helicopter dropped commando forces a short distance from the hospital late Tuesday night. The force was discovered as it moved towards the structure, where Hizbullah operatives were suspected of hiding. Several hours of gunfights ensued, and at least 10 Hizbullah guerrillas were reported killed.

Another force was helicoptered in to extricate the commandos and provide backup for the mission.

After inspecting the identification of everyone in the hospital, the IDF soldiers proceeded to arrest several Hizbullah officials, who were later transported back into Israel. The officials' names and positions in the organization were not revealed. The main target of the operation was Muhammad Yazbek, a senior figure in the organization. Yazbek was not in the hospital at the time of the raid.

No IDF soldiers were wounded in the operation, an army spokesperson told The Jerusalem Post.

Earlier Wednesday morning, Hizbullah spokesman Hussein Rahal said, "A group of Israeli commandos was brought to the hospital by a helicopter. They entered the hospital and are trapped inside as our fighters opened fire on them and fierce fighting is still raging."

In a statement released Wednesday, the IDF confirmed that Hizbullah operatives had been captured and that others had been killed. This is the first confirmation by the IDF of operations so deep inside the Bekaa Valley, a known Hizbullah stronghold.

Meanwhile on Wednesday, the IDF continued its operations deeper inside Lebanon than it has since the outbreak of violence three weeks ago. Infantry, engineering, and armored corps have taken up strategic positions in the villages of Mis al-Jabal and Balida in southeast Lebanon. Troops also took up positions and tightened their hold on Ataybeh, al-Adisa, and Rav al-Tadis, northwest of Metulla.

In addition, IDF troops took up positions in Maroun al-Ras, Bint Jbail, and Ayta a-Shab in southwest Lebanon. IDF troops operating in Mehibev killed seven Hizbullah terrorists on Wednesday, and since Operation Change of Direction began, over 300 Hizbullah terrorists have reportedly been killed.

On Tuesday, the IAF struck three Hizbullah bunkers in the western zone of southern Lebanon.

Warplanes also hit Hizbullah fighters battling with soldiers near the border as the guerrillas fired mortars into Israel.

Israeli jet fighters struck deep inside Lebanese territory, hitting Hermel, some 120 kilometers north of the Israeli border in the Bekaa Valley in eastern Lebanon. Warplanes fired at least five air-to-surface missiles on the edge of the town, targeting a road linking eastern Lebanon to western regions and the coastline.

About six hours later, warplanes returned to attack Hermel again, hitting a pickup truck loaded with cooking gas tanks, security officials said. The canisters exploded, sending flames shooting up from the vehicle for nearly an hour. The driver had pulled over and exited the vehicle before the attack, and was not hurt, they said.

In the west, Israeli warships offshore in the Mediterranean sent artillery into the villages of Mansouri, Shamaa and Teir Harfan around the port city of Tyre. No casualties were reported.

Another strike at an area near the Syrian border, about 10 kilometers north of Hermel, targeted the Qaa-Homs road, one of four official crossing points between Lebanon and Syria. Lebanon's official news agency reported Israeli jets also hit early Tuesday near the Masnaa crossing into Syria, which was attacked several times in the last three days.

Tuesday's airstrikes meant that two of the four border crossings are now closed because of damage. Repeated airstrikes have made the main Beirut-Damascus highway impassable.

Meanwhile, during a welcoming ceremony for French tourists at Ben Gurion International Airport on Tuesday, Tourism Minister Isaac Herzog praised the IDF for its operations in Lebanon and estimated that the army would continue bombarding Hizbullah infrastructure in the upcoming days.

Herzog added that, so far, during Operation Changing Direction, some 400 Hizbullah guerrillas had been killed by the IDF.

The tourism minister also said that the IDF had destroyed an array of long-range missiles as well as several Hizbullah headquarters and communications rooms.

Earlier, the Security Cabinet approved widening the ground offensive, a participant said, and rejected a cease-fire until an international force is in place in southern Lebanon.

Defense Minister Amir Peretz said that Israel was not interested in waging war on Syria but would continue to target convoys smuggling weapons across the border into Lebanon.

On Monday, Syria's army went on high alert in response to the situation.

IDF commandos capture Hizbullah members after battle (http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1153292046965&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FPrinter)