Bomb Destroys Israeli Convoy in Lebanon; 7 Killed, 11 Injured : Attack on Soldiers Near Border Worse Than One in 1987

A suicide car bomb exploded today near Israel’s “Good Fence” border crossing in south Lebanon, killing seven Israeli soldiers and wounding nine others and two Lebanese civilians, Israeli officials said.

In Beirut, the Islamic Resistance claimed responsibility for the explosion. The same coalition of pro-Iranian fundamentalist groups claimed responsibility for a car bomb that wounded three Israelis in August.

The explosion was an even more devastating attack on Israeli soldiers than one last Nov. 26 when a lone Palestinian commando flew across the Lebanese border in a hang glider and killed six soldiers before being slain.

Bomb Car Disintegrated

Maj. Gen. Yossi Peled, Israel’s northern commander, said at a news conference here that the force of the 1:25 p.m. blast was so powerful it destroyed the attacking vehicle.

“Nothing remained of the car bomb, which shows the large size of the bomb,” Peled said.

“We must talk to the survivors to ascertain what happened. What we know is that the car was apparently not parked, and when the army vehicles arrived the vehicle also arrived and exploded,” he said.

The Christian Broadcast Network reported from south Lebanon that a Japanese-made pickup truck plunged into the convoy. Some Israeli officials said no body of a car bomber had been found.

Peled said the blast occurred as two groups of army vehicles passed each other, one headed home and the other into Lebanon.

Charred Vehicles Guarded

Reporters arriving at the fence later were barred from entering Lebanon but saw a soldier guarding two charred vehicles, one a truck and the other a jeep.

The soldier and TV cameramen who arrived shortly after the blast said the explosion occurred only a few yards from the border, knocking down part of the electronic fence.

The explosion left a crater five yards across, trees were scorched from the explosion and nothing was recognizable as the attack vehicle, witnesses said.

Middle East Television, a Christian-run station, said the attack was claimed by the military wing of Hezbollah, the pro-Iranian Party of God militia based in Beirut.

Fence a Place of Aid

The bomb was detonated 700 yards from the “Good Fence,” which Israel created in 1976 to provide medical assistance and other aid to refugees from Lebanon’s civil war. It is used mostly by Lebanese who travel to Israel daily.

Tour groups visit the site regularly, and witnesses said a group of Australian young people had been at the fence shortly before the blast. None was hurt.

TV footage of the explosion’s aftermath showed medical teams performing emergency surgery in the field and victims with arms and legs blown off. The wounded soldiers were flown by helicopter to hospitals in Israel, and some were said to be in serious condition.

Peled said two of the wounded were Lebanese women.

He said the incident proved the value of Israel’s self-declared security zone, a buffer strip 6 to 10 miles deep in south Lebanon.

“That it happened so close to the border proves the importance of the security zone,” he said. “Looking back, we must remember how many attacks there have been and how many have been avoided.”