Mine Kills Australian Observer

An Australian army captain serving with a U.N. peacekeeping force in Lebanon was killed today when his car ran over a land mine, a U.N. spokesman said.

A Canadian officer in the force was seriously wounded in the blast, said Timor Goksel, spokesman for the U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon. He said the wounded officer was taken to a U.N. hospital where he underwent surgery. The explosion occurred in Israel’s self-designated security zone in southern Lebanon, and Israeli military sources said the army believed it was planted by guerrillas from the Iranian-backed Hezbollah organization.