Home / International / International -- World Tools: Save | Print | E-mail | Most Read
Five Spanish Peacekeepers Killed in Blast in S Lebanon
Adjust font size:

Five Spanish peacekeepers, three of whom are of Colombian origin, killed in a roadside bomb in southern Lebanon on Sunday, Spanish Defense Minister Jose Antonio Alonso announced.

They were injured by the explosion of two devices when their vehicle detonated a mine south of the country, Alonso said in a press conference.

He said all five killed were in the Spanish army and were part of the UN force in south Lebanon. It was the first deadly attack on the UN force since last year's Israel-Hezbollah war.

"We are working on the theory of a terrorist attack. In the last few weeks there have been many incidents which have destabilized Lebanon . We were on high alert and we had stepped up security," Alonso said.

The incident occurred at Sahel al Derdara, a hamlet near aJiam, the largest in the security limits patrolled by the Spanish soldiers deployed in Lebanon integrating the United Nations' Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL).

Spanish media quoting Lebanese military sources reported the Spanish militaries' vehicle detonated a mine placed in the highway between the localities of Marjayun and aJiam, six kilometers north of the Israeli border city of Metulla.

The eyewitnesses said the first explosion was followed by a second explosion some minutes later and it is believed it was either the gasoline tank or the ammunition they were transporting.

It is still ignored if the explosion was caused by an old mine or if it was a deliberate attack against the UNIFIL troops.

This is the only Spanish mission of this type authorized by the government of Jose Luis Rodriguez, it was approved by the Ministers' Council on December 1 of 2006.

The UNIFIL now has 13,000-strong troops in Lebanon , which has been fulfilling a peacekeeping task since last summer's Israel- Hezbollah conflict. The Spanish battalion deployed in Lebanon is integrated by 1,100 troops.

(Xinhua News Agency June 25, 2007)

Tools: Save | Print | E-mail | Most Read

Related Stories
Europe Makes Lebanon Force Plans
> Korean Nuclear Talks
> Middle East Peace Process
> Iran Nuclear Issue
> Reconstruction of Iraq
> 6th SCO Summit Meeting
Links
- China Development Gateway
- Foreign Ministry
- Network of East Asian Think-Tanks
- China-EU Association
- China-Africa Business Council
- China Foreign Affairs University
- University of International Relations
- Institute of World Economics & Politics
- Institute of Russian, East European & Central Asian Studies
- Institute of West Asian & African Studies
- Institute of Latin American Studies
- Institute of Asia-Pacific Studies
- Institute of Japanese Studies
SiteMap | About Us | RSS | Newsletter | Feedback
SEARCH THIS SITE
Copyright © China.org.cn. All Rights Reserved     E-mail: webmaster@china.org.cn Tel: 86-10-88828000 京ICP证 040089号