Hezbollah, the Lebanese Shis movement, claimed Monday that it had discovered and thwarted an Israeli spy surveillance network in southern Lebanon. The claim refers to three electronic underground censors seemingly planted during the 2006 incursion by Israeli troops, and which monitored communications in Lebanon.
All three devices were subsequently destroyed after being discovered. A security source in southern Lebanon, who requested anonymity, said two of three devices were detonated remotely by the Israeli army, whilst a third was blown up by the Lebanese army on Sunday morning.
In a statement Hezbollah said it has achieved a "major accomplishment" after its members "uncovered and thwarted an Israeli enemy aggression." Hezbollah said its group "managed to uncover a spy device planted by Israel between Houla and Mais el-Jabal that had been installed prior to the July 2006 war." It said the device was booby-trapped.
According to a security source in southern Lebanon, the devices were used for surveillance of communications by Hezbollah. A United Nations Interim Forces (UNIFIL) statement said preliminary indications showed that these blasts were caused by "explosive charges contained in unattended underground sensors" which were placed in that area by Israeli forces "apparently during the 2006 war."
"UNIFIL immediately launched an investigation to ascertain all the facts and circumstances relating to the presence of these devices and to establish how the explosions were triggered," the statement added. Israel waged on July 12, 2006 a 33-day war against Lebanon, during which 1,200 Lebanese, mostly civilians, and 160 mainly Israel soldiers, were killed.
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