Baalbek operation completed successfully
Bold operation behind enemy lines: IDF commando units land in town of Baalbek, some 80 kilometers inside Lebanese territory Tuesday night. Combatants kill Hizbullah gunmen, capture several terrorists and return safely home. Lebanese officials speculate troops were attempting to rescue kidnapped soldiers, apprehend Hizbullah top member
Bold operation behind enemy lines: Israeli commando units returned safely to Israel Wednesday morning, after a nightly raid on a Hizbullah stronghold in the town of Baalbek, located close to the Syrian border some 80 kilometers inside Lebanese territory.
The troops injured several Hizbullah gunmen and captured five. Lebanese officials speculated that the special forces were attempting to rescues the kidnapped soldiers that are being held by Hizbullah.
The IDF defined the mission "a success." Other commando units operations are expected to follow.
Additionally, at least 11 civilians, including a Syrian national, were killed. Hizbullah claimed that the Lebanese that have been captured are innocent civilians, and that they do not belong to the organization. "Israel will soon realize its mistake," Hizbullah said in a statement.
"The combatants hurt several terrorists and captured others," the IDF Spokesperson Unit said in a statement.
Meanwhile, exchanges of fire are currently taking place between IDF forces and Hizbullah gunmen in the villages of Mhabib and Aita al-Shaab in southern Lebanon, in the same area where two soldiers and an officer were killed on Tuesday.
The operation, which was launched after midnight, was aimed – according to foreign sources – at kidnapping Sheikh Muhammad Yazbek, a member of Hizbullah's High Council and one of the group's top 12 senior members.
Troops enter Lebanon (Photo: Reuters)
According to the report, IDF soldiers engaged in fierce battles with Hizbullah gunmen, as IAF helicopter provided troops with air cover.
Other sources in Lebanon reported that 10 Lebanese civilians – five of which were members of the same family – were killed in an IDF air strike in the course of the fighting.
The town of Baalbek is considered to be Hizbullah's "strategic home front," and is home to some of the group's leadership members. Hizbullah civil and military institutes are also located in the place.
According to reports, the operation kicked off with six air strikes carried out by the air force in the area, followed by IDF helicopters that landed troops in the western part of town. Simultaneously a Lebanese army post was attacked near the town of Shleife, west of Baalbek.
Efrat Weiss contributed to the report
