The Israeli army Friday said it shelled a Hezbollah position in retaliation for a bomb that targeted Israeli soldiers on the border, further heightening tension on the southern frontier.
“In response to the explosive device activated against [Israeli army] soldiers, the [army] fired toward a Hezbollah terror infrastructure in southern Lebanon. A hit was confirmed,” it said in a statement.
The Lebanese Army confirmed the incident, saying Israel fired nine mortar bombs into Lebanese territory.
“Around 5:45 p.m. when a bomb targeted an Israeli [army] patrol inside occupied territory, Israeli forces fired several mortar shells, including nine that fell on Lebanon’s Bastra farms and Helta,” it said in a statement.
The Israeli army said an explosive device was detonated targeting Israeli soldiers patrolling the border.
Israeli media reports said the explosion wounded three soldiers.
A Lebanese security source said Israel’s barrage of shells was aimed at preventing “a possible infiltration,” which might have been planned to follow the bomb.
The Islamic State of Iraq and Greater Syria claimed the bomb attack against what the Islamist group described as the “Zionist army unit” along the border with Lebanon.
It is the first time the group has claimed responsibility for attacks against Israel.
