Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Report: Hezbollah man killed in mysterious blast in Lebanon; Peres: Hezbollah rendering Lebanon explosive

(Ynet).An explosion occurred Monday evening in the home of senior Hezbollah member Abdel Nasser Issa, in the southern Lebanon village of Tayr Filsi, on the outskirts of Tyre, local media reported.

The Reuters news agency quoted local security sources as saying five people were killed in the blast, including the Hezbollah man and his son. Hezbollah denied anyone was killed in the explosion.

The village where the explosion took place is located near the southern bank of the Litani River. According to the official Lebanese news agency, the building was completely destroyed in the explosion. Ambulances were dispatched to the area and evacuated the injured to a hospital in Nabatiya.

The Israel Defense Forces filed a complaint with the United Nations Interim Force in Southern Lebanon, demanding an investigation into the explosion. Army sources said the incident proved that Hezbollah continued to bring weapons and ammunition into southern Lebanon and hide them in houses, in violation of Security Council Resolution 1701.

President Shimon Peres opened the fourth Galilee convention in Kfar Blum on Tuesday. During his speech, the president commented on the mysterious explosion that took place in Tyre on Monday, in which a Hezbollah operative was reportedly killed.

"Yesterday an ammunition storehouse exploded in Tyre," he said. "In my opinion, Hezbollah has turned Lebanon into a barrel of explosives. It's not Israel which is endangering Lebanon but rather Hezbollah, just as Hamas is endangering the Palestinians," said Peres.