IDF tanks in north
Photo: Ahiya Raved
North: Tank crew members’ bodies retrieved
IDF concludes mission to collect remains of four soldiers killed in Lebanon when their tank drove over bomb while in pursuit of Hizbullah terrorists who kidnapped two of their comrades
The IDF has concluded its mission to collect the remains of the four soldiers killed in Lebanon Wednesday when their tank drove over a bomb while in pursuit of the Hizbullah terrorists who kidnapped two of their comrades.
The remains have been transferred to the Abu Kabir Forensics Institute.
The four soldiers were identified as: Sergeant Gadi Musayeb, 20, from Akko; Sergeant Yaniv Baron, 20, from Maccabim; Sergeant Shlomi Yirmiyahu, 20, of Rishon Letzion; Staff Sergeant Alexei Kushnirsky, 21, of Nes Tziona.
Sergeant Nimrod Cohen, 19, from Mitzpeh Shalem was killed during the initial attempt to retrieve the bodies.
A short while after the two IDF troops were kidnapped, ground forces were sent deep into Lebanese territory for the first time since Israel’s withdrawal from the security strip six years ago to chase after the abductors.
Heavy exchanges of fire ensued, and Hizbullah announced that it had destroyed an IDF tank as it was trying to cross the border into Lebanon. The tank was located some 70 meters (230 feet) inside Lebanon when a bomb weighing over 200 kilos (440 pounds) exploded under it, killing all four crew members.
The Merkava mark 2 tank was not equipped with an armor shield against bombs, but army sources said that the deaths could not have been prevented even the tank had been better protected.
The operation to locate the abducted soldiers and the crew members’ bodies was carried out under heavy Hizbullah fire. At around 3:30 p.m. an anti-tank missile was fired at an IDF forces as it approached the destroyed tank; one soldier was killed and two others were wounded.
