WarSclerotic

Hizballah blows up “Mossad” patrol, sparks border clash with Israel, DEBKAfile, January 4, 2016

Shortly after DEBKAfile’s forecast of a Hizballah revenge strike for the Samir Quntar assassination, a Hizballah roadside bomb blew up against an IDF patrol at the Shebaa Farms on the Hermon slopes Monday afternoon, Jan. 4.  No casualties were caused. The Israeli force responded with tank artillery fire on the southern Lebanese town of Al-Wazzani and was answered by rocket fire from Lebanon

Hizballah announced that it had targeted an Israeli patrol with a bomb on the ceasefire line at the Shebaa Farms targeting a civilian car carrying a “senior Mossad officer”.

The next Hizballah communiqué said: The Martyr al-Quntar Unit blew up a bomb against an Israeli patrol in the Shebaa Farms, destroying a military vehicle and causing casualties.

In a third communiqué, Hizballah said the car attacked carried a “senior Israeli army officer” – amending its previous claim of a Mossad officer.

The Israeli army has closed all northern roads to civilian traffic in case the Hizballah attack spreads into a major clash.

DEBKAfile reported earlier Monday that the rising tension between Tehran and Riyadh may serve Iran and its Lebanese proxy as an oportunity to attack Israel. The leader of that proxy, Hizballah’s Hassan Nasrallah, had repeatedly threatened to punish Israeli for the assassination of its high profile terrorist planner Samir Quntar in Damascus on Dec, 20. Quntar was freed by Israel as part of a prisoner swap in 2008, three decades after he was convicted of killing four Israelis. In September, the United States placed Quntar on its terror blacklist, saying he had “played an operational role, with the assistance of Iran and Syria, in building up Hizballah’s terrorist infrastructure in the Golan Heights.”

This entry was posted on January 4, 2016 at 6:29 PM and is filed under Golan, Hezbollah, Iran - Saudi Arabia, Iran - Syria war, Iran and Israel, Israel, Israeli military, Nasrallah, Samir Quntar. You can subscribe via RSS 2.0 feed to this post's comments.

Tags: Golan, Hezbollah, Iran - Saudi Arabia, Iran - Syria war, Iran and Israel, Israel, Israeli Military, Nasrallah, Samit Quntar