Israeli warplanes struck a Syrian anti-aircraft position in eastern Lebanon today. The attack comes two days after Hizbollah guerrillas wounded at least one Israeli soldier in a rocket attack in a disputed border area. The US State Department has called for restraint from all sides. One Lebanese and two Syrian soldiers were reported wounded in today's air raid, Lebanese military officials said.
The Syrian-backed Hizbollah swiftly responded by firing at Israeli positions in the disputed Shebaa Farms area, witnesses said. Israeli artillery in turn shelled the Lebanese border town of Kfar Shouba, wounding at least one person. Hundreds of other people fled their homes. The shelling, which also hit the nearby town of Shebaa, ended after about an hour. Israeli warplanes continued to circle low over the area and over other towns in south Lebanon.
Witnesses and Hizbollah said that its fighters had hit an Israeli radar installation in Shebaa Farms, setting it on fire. Earlier, other witnesses said that Israeli aircraft had targeted a Syrian radar site and anti-aircraft guns near Serain, south of the ancient Roman town of Baalbek in the strategic Bekaa Valley, where Syria has a large concentration of more than 20,000 troops.
