By SAM F. GHATTAS,
Associated Press Writer Wed Feb 7, 6:18 PM ET
BEIRUT, Lebanon - Lebanese troops deployed along the border with Israel opened fire late Wednesday as Israeli troops searched for Hezbollah bombs, drawing retaliatory fire, officials from both sides said.
It was the first time that shooting erupted across the border since shortly after an Aug. 14 cease-fire that ended a 34-day war between Israeli forces and the Lebanese Hezbollah militants.
Lebanese troops opened fire on a bulldozer after it crossed the so-called Blue Line — the U.N.-demarcated boundary — and entered about 20 yards into Lebanon, Lebanese officials said.
Israeli troops responded with tanks and light weapons, Israeli security officials said on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.
The exchange occurred near the Lebanese village of Maroun el-Rass, which was the scene of heavy fighting in the summer war, in the central sector of the border.
The Lebanese military officials, speaking on condition of anonymity pending the release of a formal statement from the army command, said the Lebanese army fired volleys of machine guns toward the bulldozer.
Israeli forces responded with five anti-tank grenades that targeted an army armored vehicle and a transport jeep, the Lebanese officials said. Lebanese troops did not suffer any injuries. There was no immediate word of any Israeli casualties.
The Lebanon war began last summer when two Israeli soldiers crossed the border into Lebanon. In the weeks that followed, the media tried to spin the story that the two Israelis had been captured by a Lebanese force, which had crossed into Israel, but a quick look at any map of the region shows that Aitaa al-Chaab, the town where the capture occurred, is well within Lebanon.
This looks to be a similar provocation. Expect the story about the bulldozer crossing into Lebanon to "go away."
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070207/ap_on_re_mi_ea/israel_lebanon;_
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