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Israeli planes continue attacking Lebanon

RASHAYA, (Lebanon): Israeli warplanes raided Lebanon for the third consecutive day as Israel ordered its people out of shelters in the north on Thursday.

Israeli jets staged six raids on Jabal Ad-Dahr hills and Wadi Zelaya north of Israel's south Lebanon occupation zone, a security source said. Iranian-backed Hizbollah guerrillas said they earlier attacked Israeli troops in the 15 km (nine miles)-deep zone. There were no other details.

There were no immediate reports of casualties but witnesses said Israeli jets were overflying the area constantly. For the second day Israel limited its air raids to the south, marking a decline in tension.

The Israeli air force knocked out three power stations across Lebanon in air raids which wounded 15 people early on Tuesday, in retaliation for the killing of five Israeli soldiers in the two weeks prior to the raids.

Hizbollah responded to these raids by killing an Israeli soldier and a pro-Israeli Lebanese militiamen in Israel's so-called security zone in southern Lebanon.

The Israeli army ordered residents of the north out of their bunkers as fears subsided that Hizbollah would try to fire Katyusha rockets in retaliation for the Israeli air strikes.-Reuters