RMEILEH, Lebanon: A roadside bomb exploded yesterday near a UN vehicle travelling along a coastal highway south of Beirut, lightly wounding two Irish peacekeepers.Well, some people claim to know who did it:It was the first attack on the expanded UN force in Lebanon since last summer, when six Spanish peacekeepers died after a bomb hit their armoured personnel carrier in June near the Israeli border in southern Lebanon.
In July, a roadside bomb struck a UN jeep near the southern port of Tyre, but there were no casualties.
Yesterday's explosion rocked the town of Rmeileh, near the southern coastal city of Sidon. Smoke was seen billowing from the scene.
The UN Interim Force in Lebanon's force commander adviser, Milos Strugar, said one vehicle was damaged in the explosion and two peacekeepers in the vehicle were "lightly wounded" and taken to a hospital.
Lebanese TV stations said the wounded peacekeepers were Irish.
Hezbollah said the purpose of the terrorist act is "crystal clear" and the Amal Movement of Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri pointed fingers of accusation at Israel, saying the attack only served Zionist interests.
Meanwhile:
In another incident, the [Lebanese] army has denied Israeli reports that two rockets were fired yesterday into northern Israel from Lebanon.Yet:
UN peacekeepers from Italy and France examined the remains of a rocket fired from Lebanon into the northern Israel town of Shlomit in one of two attacks reported yesterday. (EFI SHARIR/AFP/Getty Images)
Any chance that the UNIFIL was attacked for checking out the non-existent Katyushas?