Israelis Kill 1 Lebanese, Hurt 4 Others, Sources Say
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MARJAYOUN, Lebanon — Israeli soldiers shot and killed a Lebanese bird hunter and wounded four others in Israeli-held southern Lebanon on Saturday, apparently mistaking them for guerrillas, security sources said.
An Israeli spotted the five men armed with hunting rifles in woods near the southeastern town of Hasbayya and opened fire with automatic weapons, the sources said on condition of anonymity.
The sources in Marjayoun said the Israelis must have mistook the hunters for Muslim fundamentalist guerrillas.
The Israeli army confirmed in a statement that a Lebanese civilian was killed and three injured. It said soldiers fired on “suspicious figures in a prohibited area.”
Israeli soldiers and the Israeli-backed South Lebanon Army frequently shoot at civilians who wander in the fields of southern Lebanon without clearance.
The Israelis and their Lebanese allies have been particularly edgy following heavy clashes with Muslim guerrillas.
On Friday, two Israeli soldiers were killed and seven wounded in an attack that touched off daylong battles. Sporadic exchanges were reported Saturday.
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