|
|
| By: Associated Press |
| Published: July 22, 2006 |
| |
Israeli warplanes hit TV transmission towers on Saturday in Lebanon, knocking the nation's leading private network off the air and cutting phone links to some regions.
Fighter bombers fired missiles at transmission stations in the central and northern Lebanese mountains, leaving antennas burning on the ground.
Three missiles hit a transmission station at Fatqa in the Keserwan mountains, leaving antennas burning on the ground. Another airstrike crippled a transmission tower at Terbol in northern Lebanon, where relay stations for the Lebanese Broadcasting Corp., Future TV and Hezbollah's Al-Manar are located.
The three stations could no longer be seen in parts of the country although their satellite feed was unaffected. The Lebanese Broadcasting Corp. is the nation's leading private network.
Hezbollah TV has been targeted previously, during the hostilities that erupted July 12. It went off the air for less than 10 minutes during the pounding.
The transmission of Radio Free Lebanon, a private station, was also disrupted when airstrikes hit a tower on a mountaintop in Sannine that was also used by the Lebanese Broadcasting Corp.
Israeli warplanes targeting a truck hit a Christian suburb of Beirut earlier this week, but Saturday's attack was the first major airstrike in the Christian heartland.
The 11-day-old Israeli bombardment has hammered mainly Shiite Muslim regions in southern and eastern Lebanon as well as Beirut's southern suburbs.
Meanwhile, Israeli forces kept up the pressure on southern Lebanese border towns, pounding them with artillery fire, making brief incursions, and according to the Israeli military, taking control of one.
Israel's incursion into Maroun al-Ras came after it pounded the area with bombs and artillery throughout the night.
Several Israeli soldiers, backed by artillery and tank fire, moved into Maroun al-Ras, Israeli military officials said on condition of anonymity citing the sensitivity of the information, and said it was under Israeli control.
But Lebanese security sources, who also spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the information, said that the Israeli military had made incursions of only a few hundred meters (yards) into Maroun al-Ras and Yaroun villages.
The village is believed to be a launching point for rocket attacks on northern Israel, including those on the Israeli city Nazareth.
Israeli air raids and artillery shelling also hit the southeast border town of Khiam, Lebanese television and witnesses reported.
U.N. peace keepers and witnesses said the Israeli incursion briefly held the border village of Marwaheen before pulling back.
One person was killed and five wounded in overnight airstrikes on the southern town of Nabatiyeh, the Voice of Lebanon radio station said. The report could not immediately be confirmed. Nabatiyeh, located some 12 kilometers north of the border, was heavily bombed a day earlier.
Lebanese television said that Israeli artillery also shelled zones near the disputed Chebaa farms area.
No report of casualties were immediately available. |
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
Click on the blue headline to read a Talkback comment and respond to it. Click on the  icon to send a private email to the talkback writer. The icon appears only if the writer has decided to be contacted. If no popup window appears, please make sure your popup blocker allows israelinsider.com.
|
|
| |
|
| |
|
