Israel’s Air Force targeted an uninhabited area of Lebanon as reports emerged of a downed drone that may have been bombed to prevent it from falling into enemy hands.
By: Aryeh Savir, World Israel News
An IAF fighter jet in action. (Ofer Zidon/Flash90)
An Israel Air Force (IAF) aircraft conducted an air raid in the Bekaa valley in Lebanon on Sunday, the Arabic Al-Jazeera news site reported.
Some reports indicate that an Israeli Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) may have been downed and that Israel’s Air Force subsequently bombed it. Locals arrived at the site of the explosion and walked away with its parts.
According to an Al-Jazeera correspondent in Lebanon, an Israeli warplane dropped a missile on a hill south of the town of Saghbin. Smoke clouds were reported to have billowed from the targeted area.
The report added that IAF aircraft had flown over the area extensively.
The official Lebanese news agency reported hearing a loud explosion accompanied by the sound of warplanes in the area, but did not know its cause.
The Hezbollah-run al-Manar news reported the explosion in the Bekaa valley, but did not provide further details.
The Al-Jazeera correspondent said that the target was a mountainous, uninhabited, forest-covered area and that a Hezbollah headquarters is located just a few kilometers away from the site of the attack.
Lebanese security forces were allegedly in the area, investigating the incident.
Neither the IDF nor the Hezbollah terror organization, which would have been the target of the reported attacks, responded to the reports.
It is also possible that Syrian rebels or other Sunni elements were responsible for the attack.
Israel has reportedly attacked Syrian and Hezbollah targets in the past, hitting weapons depots and shipments in an attempt to stop Hezbollah’s acquisition of advanced weapons.
There were several unconfirmed reports of IAF attacks in April and June.
Speaking in April, Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon warned Hezbollah against arming itself to attack Israel, possibly alluding to the IDF attacks.
“We won’t allow a transfer of quality weapons to terrorist organizations, Hezbollah foremost among them, and we will know to reach it [Hezbollah] and those who direct it at all times and all places. We will not allow Hezbollah to establish a terror infrastructure on our borders with Syria, and we have the ability to reach anyone who threatens Israeli citizens along our borders or even far from them,” he stated.