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Israeli planes hit Lebanon, one dies

NABATIYEH (Lebanon): Israeli aircraft attacked guerrilla positions in south Lebanon on Sunday and a Lebanese Muslim was reported killed in a clash with Israeli forces.

A security source said two planes fired two rockets at the outskirts of the village of Zawtar just north of the central sector of the Israel's occupation zone in south Lebanon while two helicopters fired eight rockets around the same area.

Earlier, Amal Movement, a pro-Syrian Shia Muslim movement, said in a statement that its guerrillas attacked several positions of the Israeli army and its South Lebanon Army (SLA) militia proxies in the area.

Amal's statement said the guerrillas engaged Israeli army and SLA militiamen for more than an hour.

The Muslim group said in a further statement that one of its fighters was killed and it lost contact with another during the skirmish.

In Jerusalem, an Israeli army statement said: "Israeli air force planes and helicopters attacked in the morning hours terrorist targets in the Tibnit area of the eastern sector outside the security zone in south Lebanon. All planes returned safely."

Israel has occupied parts of Lebanon since 1978. In 1985 it set up a 15-km (nine mile) deep "security zone" saying it needed to prevent cross-border attacks.

Amal Movement, Iranian-backed Hizbollah (Party of God) and other Lebanese organisations are waging a war of attrition to drive Israel and SLA militia out.-Reuters