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Israeli jets strike three villages in south Lebanon

RASHAYA (Lebanon): Israeli warplanes on Friday raided the outskirts of three villages in southern Lebanon from which Hizbollah guerrillas were suspected of launching attacks, security sources and witnesses said.

They said the planes fired six rockets in three sorties over Ain Qenya, Zelaya and Ain el-Tina, villages on the fringes of Israel's south Lebanon occupation zone.

There were no immediate reports of casualties.

In Jerusalem, the Israeli army confirmed the raids, which came two days after Hizbollah killed five members of Israel's allied South Lebanon Army (SLA) militia and wounded three more in two separate attacks.

Hizbollah and other guerrillas are waging a war of attrition to end Israeli and SLA control of south Lebanon. It has killed seven Israeli soldiers so far this year, which prompted the Jewish state to launch fierce strikes against Lebanese infrastructure last month.

Israel has occupied parts of the area since 1978, carving out its so-called security zone in 1985 ostensibly as a buffer against potential guerrilla attacks.-Reuters